Striking Sunset
by Shibby-One
Summary: Yugi wakes up one day from being comatose for two years, to find that everything that went on with the Millenium Items was actually a dream. Completely screwing up his sense of reality. Can he adjust to his new life? Or is there something else happening?
1. Prologue

i just wrote this originally for mah own amusement. So enjoy it if you may.

_Yugi wakes up one day from being comatose for two years, to find that everything that went on with the Millenium Items was actually... a dream? A very vivid dream... Completely screwing up his sense of reality. Can he adjust to his new life? Or is there something else going on here no one else knows about?_

**Disclaimer: Don't Own YGO. Sorry guys. **

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**_Prologue_**__

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          "This is the most pointless thing we've ever done," Honda said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He stared at Yugi, who was trying to balance on the brick walls lining the pathway.

          "No, it's not," Jonouchi protested, watching Yugi with hawk eyes. He had already nearly pitched forward off the seven-foot wall onto the brick pathway beneath it twice. "The most pointless thing we've ever done was try to convince Kaiba he owned the Millennium Rod."

          "Oh yeah, that was _so_ easy to do," Honda said, rolling his eyes. Anzu, who was sitting on the opposite wall from Yugi laughed.

          "Come _on,_ guys," she said, trying to raise their spirits. "Kaiba _has_ to help. He senses that he's needed, so he _has to help._"

          "He doesn't want to help," Jonouchi said, nodding to Honda. He immediately turned back to Yugi's small body, inching it's way across the wall. He was staring at it with a powerful gaze, as if beckoning it to make him fall. Yugi's body had changed since he solved the Millennium Puzzle; he was taller now, with stronger arms and legs. The Millennium Puzzle was swinging from it's chain, making a small clinking sound that could be heard to all of them.

          The group was standing outside of Kaiba Land, waiting for Kaiba Seto himself to leave the building. He had told them to wait for him at four, but it was well past five now. He was stalling for who knows what reasons. Yugi stopped walking, breathing hard, trying to regain his concentration.

          "This is hard to do," he said, smiling. Anzu slid over to where the wall leveled with the hard stone ground, at the top of a long set of granite steps. She walked over to the wall where Yugi was poised, as if he were a tight-rope walked five hundred feet in the air.

          "Come on, Yugi!" she said excitedly. She gently walked out onto the ledge, her arms spread. She had better balance then Yugi, being the dancer that she was. She looked at Yugi, watching him balance as well as he could. He wobbled a little, then continued. Anzu inched closer. 

          "ANZU!" Yugi nearly shouted. She froze. "Don't come any closer!"

          "Okay," Anzu said, freezing where she was. Yugi smiled, never averting his eyes from the brick wall.

          "Sorry, Anzu-chan," he said slowly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

          "Oh, you didn't scare me," she said, sighing deeply. Honda was watching Jonouchi, who was watching Yugi. They were all silent for a moment, thinking of their task. The one Isis sent them on. They were just thinking about it, when...

          It was a split second. That's all. Yugi lost his footing, and the next thing they knew, he was falling all seven feet down to the hard, stone ground. Anzu reacted first, trying to grab his hand. She didn't make it, and almost fell herself. She watched as he fell, nearly in slow-motion. She was horrified. 

          With a sickening _crack,_ Yugi's head connected with the ground, just in time as his body hit the ground as well. Blood, thick, oozing blood, spurted out of his side, where he had hit the ground. The Puzzle smashed against the ground as well, breaking in half. They were amazed that his head wasn't bleeding, until they saw that he was unconscious.

          "Yugi!" Anzu cried as Jonouchi and Honda ran over to his still body. He was lying on his stomach, blood oozing around him. Roughly, Jonouchi gripped his shoulders and flipped him over, so he was now on his side. His eyes were closed and his face was covered in dirt, his lips bleeding and his body turning pale.

          "Oh God oh God oh God...." Anzu repeated like a drone, her hands over her mouth. Jonouchi turned him onto his back, shaking his roughly. His head lolled to one side.

          "Yugi! Yugi! Wake up!" Jonouchi cried. Jonouchi lowered his head to Yugi's sweat-soaked chest. It was rising and falling rapidly, and he could hear Yugi's heart beating away insanely.

          "He's still alive," Jonouchi called. Honda turned to Anzu.

          "Anzu, you _need_ to call a doctor, fast!" Meanwhile, no one noticed the Millennium Puzzle, lying in pieces on the ground. The pieces were slowing falling out of place, landing spread out on the path. A small group of people had come running at their cries, and some had accidentally stepped on the Puzzle, breaking it more.

          Finally, the last pieces were separate, and Yugi's semi-conscious mind became dark as he slid into the dark abyss known as unconsciousness. The pieces began glowing, not that anyone noticed. And with a flash of light covering the entire earth, only a split second it took, the entire earth revolved in a different direction that day, as it's history changed for good.__

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So. that might not make much sense... i was getting annoyed at the lines for page markers, so i just put a very distinked line for the start and end of each chap, with spaces in between. im not gonna beg you to review; i just like to know what i can do to make it better or to just continue with it. Comment if you would like to. im not gonna be very silly during this fic much, since it's not the silliest fic in the world. So... i might one day if im hyper.... but my smiles will still hang around. ^_^

**Shibby****-One**


	2. One

Yes. I have returned. i was typing this for me, for my own sick amusement. seems like yall like it. Thanks to duenna and YumeTakato^^ 

note: this is about two years later after the accident. ^.^

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**_**1**_**__

_~~Yugi's thoughts_

            A small stinging sensation rushed through me as I seemed to become semi-conscious. Was I ever _unconscious? No, I wasn't. I feel like I haven't stood for a thousand years. My head is pounding strongly. I can hear a small beeping sound in the corner of my mind._

            Or is that sound real? Hmm. Well...

            I was _just talking to Anzu. Where did she go? I can't sense her. Maybe I'm too hurt from what happened. I haven't felt like this since that time I dreamt I got that injury and it was infected... That was one messed up dream. I hope I never have another one like that again. That was horrible. Of course, right afterward I solved the Puzzle, and my life changed forever. For two years, I have been encountering strange things, and encountered even stranger people. I'm so happy with myself as I am now. Nothing can change it. Nearly all of us have turned eighteen, except for me and Jonouchi. We just have one more year of high school left, and then we leap into the world. Except for the obvious people who are a bit older. The ones in the Circle. [1] They're already out there._

            Wait a minute. What am I doing in a bed? This makes no sense. And why do I feel so tired suddenly? Well, when I regain my strength, I know Jonouchi and Anzu and Honda will be waiting for me. I hope they will be. I don't want to be lonely. Not in this bed. Am I in the hospital? I can feel more things now; something's in my arm, and something else is over my face.... People are here; they're talking seriously, with anxious voices. They're talking about someone. Wait... Are they talking about _me?_

            What's going on?

_~~_

            Anzu was standing outside the room, staring into it. The doctor was speaking excitedly to the nurses standing beside him, and they had looks of amazement on their faces. Anzu closed her eyes and hoped today was the day.

            The day Yugi would get his life back.

            Anzu sighed and slid down the wall, holding her head, her hair poking through her fingers. Footsteps came down the hall as a tall, lanky man walked down it, hands shoved into his pockets, staring at the floor. He looked like he was either closely examining the floor tiles of Domino Hospital, or watching his own shadow. Sunlight poured through the window behind him, throwing different patterns of colors on the floor through the stained glass. (It had been given to the hospital by a wealthy patient who was very grateful to the medical team here.) He looked up a little, his maroon colored eyes through his glasses, smiling a worn smile at Anzu. Anzu didn't notice the man standing before her.

            "Anzu," he said softly. Anzu looked up at him, startled. He smiled as he crouched down to the floor, eventually sitting next to her. He propped his elbow up on his knee, which was raised into the air. Anzu smiled a small smile at him. He was so much like his son in so many ways...

            Mutou Jonah leaned back and closed his eyes, removing his glasses. He sighed. Neither of them spoke for the longest time, but they understood each other; they wanted this hellish ordeal to be over.

            The crying, the rants, the screams, the bills, the lawsuits, the lectures, the terror... It was to be done with _now._

            "I think today's the day," Jonah said suddenly, his eyes still closed. Anzu turned her head towards him.

            "Are you sure?"

            "I sure as hell hope so, Anzu." He turned to her. The one thing that was the most admirable about Jonah was he almost never lied to anyone he cared for. Or someone else cared for. Even when he was to marry Rachel, his wife, he admitted he was scared and wanted to call the whole thing off. That's something not many people would have told their fiancé. He watched Anzu with hard eyes, and Anzu knew he wasn't lying now, nearly eighteen years later. Anzu nodded in agreement.

            "He's going to wake up and be fine," Anzu said, the sound of tears in her voice. "I swear, he had better be o-okay..." Her lower lip trembled as she struggled to hold back tears. For two years, she and everyone else had waited, the doctors putting their lives on hold to save this teenager. His condition went up and down, he would be sweating one second and frozen the next, meningitis tearing up his body, then some rare bacteria destroying his lungs. 

            His body was an infestation of bacteria and viruses, influenza and others just as deadly ripping through him, every inch of his frail body being torn out and killed from the inside out. It was disgusting and fascinating at the same time, how one small infection could cause such an amazing infestation. He was a study subject, as well as a hopeless patient, since his body was in a coma state and he couldn't come out of it.

            Over the past two years, his case had been disputed by doctors and scientists, as well as police officers and teachers. The government too. Officials in the world of viruses and anatomy for the Asian Health Society were involved, as well as Ebola researchers and bacteria herders from America. It had been a globe-wide case, spreading over a hundred countries. Nearly all over Europe and Asia, expanding across the Atlantic to North and South America.

            The people responsible for Yugi's condition, a group of students, were apprehended and brought to court. His parents were questioned on their authority of their son, and whether it was healthy for him to stay with them any longer, provided he lived. It was one of the biggest news topics in all of Japan for nearly a year. This wasn't some minor scrape anymore; it was much bigger, much more powerful.

            And, hopefully, it would finally end. And to think, it all started when some bastard bullies from their school, led by Jonouchi Katsuya, had beaten him up after school one day...

            A steady beeping filled the quiet hall. The muffled voices of people came from behind closed doors. Hopefully, this would be the last visit for the Mutous to the ICU of Domino Hospital.

            The door opened with a swishing sound. Both Jonah and Anzu looked up, startled. Doctor Hari stepped outside, wiping his face with a handkerchief, excitement in his grey eyes.

            "Jonah," he said, closing the sliding door softly. "I have good news for you, and bad news for you." Both Anzu and Jonah waited with baited breath. 

            "What's the good news?" Jonah asked timidly. Doctor Hari smiled warmly.

            "Yugi has woken up." Jonah stared at him, speechless. Tears ripped down Anzu's face, her hands shaking. Jonah shook his head.

            "No."

            "Yes." Jonah's breathing quickened, and he stood up, smiling and shaking his head.

            "Yes... Oh my Lord," he whispered. He opened the sliding door, running into the wide room. "Yugi!" He ran over to the bedside, crouching down onto the floor. Yugi was lying on his back, his eyes closed. He didn't _look any different then before. Jonah had the fleeting thought that Hari was playing a sick joke on him._

            But he was right. Yugi was... alive. 

            Yugi's eyes opened slowly, and they focused on his father. His eyes widened in surprise, as if he didn't expect his father to be there.

            "Dad...?" he whispered hoarsely, tears in his eyes. "You're... Alive?" Jonah laughed.

            "What do you mean? Of _course I'm alive, Yugi-chan," he said. He took Yugi's hand. "And I thank God that you're alive as well."_

_~~Yugi's thoughts_

I couldn't believe it.

            My dad is _alive. But... that doesn't make any sense! He died on the expedition to find the Millennium Puzzle... He __can't be alive! And what is he talking about, 'thank God I'm alive'? I'm _fine._ Hell, I'm __better then fine. I'm great, dammit!_

            Why do I feel so strangely weak? How did I end up here? My cheeks are all covered in this gauze-like stuff... Almost like that stuff you put on a sunburn, calamine lotion. I'm so lost right now.

            My father, who died when I was three years old, is _alive._ He's a living, breathing person, kneeling next to me and acting like _I died. But that doesn't make any sense to me! And where's the Puzzle? Why isn't it here? If I'm in a hospital or something, I always like to have the Puzzle with me, it makes me feel... safe. It also makes it harder for any nuts to come and steal it. _

            When I opened my eyes, those doctors freaked. They acted as if I was some dying patient. But I'm _not dying, so why were they so happy? I wish Jonouchi were here. I mean, I'm so happy that my father is here, but what about my friends? The people I was just joking with? Is Anzu anywhere around here? Is there something going on that I _might_ like to know about?_

            _Finally...._ Someone who understands me. Anzu. _She _can help me...

            "Yugi...." she said, a relieved look on her face. Why is she relieved?

            "Anzu," I said weakly, "My dad's alive." Anzu shook her head, and turned to him.

            "Why is he saying that?" Dad laughed and shrugged.

            "He seems to be convinced that I'm supposed to be dead or something."

            _BUT YOU ARE!_

            "Maybe being in a coma for so long has messed up his head..." I stopped. Coma? What? Just a few minutes ago, I was happily talking to Anzu outside of KaibaLand! So I accidentally fell off that brick wall lining the path outside, and I hit my head. No big deal. I blacked out for a few minutes. I wasn't in a _coma, Anzu..._

            But I couldn't say that. I was much too tired. Anzu folded her arms, then shivered. That's when I noticed she was wearing a Domino High uniform.

            An _old uniform. The pink ones we had last year. But KaibaCorp funded for new uniforms! I mean, they were still pink, but they had the whole little 'sailor' look to them, like so many other schools in Japan. Oh, God, what's going _on_ here?_

            "He looks confused," Anzu noted. The doctor was standing behind her.

            "He's going to look confused," the doctor said. "He's been living in a dream world this whole time."

            _Nani?!_

            "What do you mean?"

            "We monitored his brain waves, and he seemed to be dreaming this entire time. So he's been having a very, very long dream, and now he's probably all confused. He probably dreamt you were dead, Jonah." Dad shrugged again.

            "It's possible... Or maybe he's just all mixed up. Maybe he's both. I wouldn't know." He looked at the doctor. "Oh, and by the way, what was the bad news?" I didn't say anything. All that, a dream? Was this doctor _nuts?_

~~

            Doctor Hari and Jonah stepped outside for a few minutes to discuss Yugi's progress. Anzu stayed behind to speak to Yugi. He seemed to be very confused. He could talk, somewhat.

            "Anzu," Yugi said slowly.

            "Yes?" Yugi took a deep breath, and asked, 

            "Where's my Puzzle?" Anzu stared at him with a quizzical look.

            "You're what?"

            "My Puzzle! The Millennium Puzzle?" Yugi's eyes watched her closely with a pleading look. He looked like he would cry if she told him the truth.

            "Listen, Yugi....." Anzu trailed off. Yugi stiffened. "Whatever you're talking about... It doesn't exist."

            "What?" Yugi shook his head. "Maybe Jonouchi has it?"

            "Jonouchi Katsuya?" Anzu asked, shocked.

            "Yeah."

            "Like he would have it. He _hates you, Yugi. Besides, he's in enough trouble as it is." Yugi stared at her open-mouth._

            "Wait, so the Puzzle doesn't exist? What about the Circle? The other Items?" he sounded so stressed. Anzu sighed and shook her head.

            "I don't know what you've been thinking, Yugi, but I have _never_ heard of the Millennium Puzzle _in my life._"

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**Footnotes:**

**[1] Circle:** in my other story, _I'm Still Dreaming, Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, Ryou, Honda, Isis, Seto, and three OC's Maho (reincarnation of Mahaado) Arya (Mana) and Zvallah (Yami's son) were all part of a sacred pact called the Circle of Osiris. LOOOONG story. That's who he was talking about; everyone included in the Circle of Osiris. Oh yeah, and to all who read ISD: Jonouchi is _not_ dead in this story._

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Confusing? Good. Nah, juss kidding. I don't wanna confuse you too too much. Is it interesting? I hope so. I like it. This is gonna be tough to write, but I can do it. I know I can. So bye for now.

**Shibby-One**


	3. Two

I wonder if anyone knows that i typed this on January 10, 2004. the first chap. ^^. it's now the 13th. Of January, 2004. ^^ Were you confused before? Good. That's good...^^ Heh heh. *evil smile* Hey... now it's the 24th. Interesting... I wanna thank Yugiohchix2008, QueenDragonGoddess, YumeTakato, and Yami Sukano for their reviewz.

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**_**2**_*****__**

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_~~Yugi's thoughts_

I'm a living miracle. And, at the same time,

            I'm a freak of nature. Not only that, but everyone thinks I'm crazy. And the worst part is,

            I'm beginning to believe them. I mean, _no one_ remembers the Millennium Items! No one! How could that be? How can you _forget something like that? How can you? Was I... dreaming?_

            My father is alive, Jonouchi hates my guts, and half my friends aren't here... The Millennium Puzzle doesn't seem to exist... It just doesn't add up.

            I wish I could talk to the Pharaoh right now... He'd be able to calm me. Not only does everyone think I have an overactive imagination, but, according to them, I was in a coma for two years. My body has been home to a dozen bacteria and viruses. I've almost _died a few times!_

            So why is my body perfectly fine? It's like I've been living perfectly healthy for the last two years, not in a coma. Hmmm.... It just doesn't make any sense. Am I crazy?

            Or is there something really weird going on here? I can't seem to remember what I was doing when I last saw the Puzzle. I could have _sworn_ I remembered just a few days ago! Why is it I can't remember? I'm so confused.... Where _is_ everyone?

~~

            Yugi was sitting upright in his bed, the blanket pulled to his waist, staring out the window. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes blurring with tears. It hurt his soul to think that all his friends didn't even know he existed. It was strange, because it seemed as if the entire world didn't exist. KaibaCorp was still a militant company, Duel Monsters didn't exist... Neither did the Millennium Items. Yugi couldn't figure it out. His only solution; He was... dreaming?

            Someone appeared at the door to his room. The door was wide open, and whispers and secrets flew all over the hospital. People were beginning to think that being sick for so long caused him to have strange dreams. Others think he has psychological problems. Most people think he's making up a very long, very extravagant story.

            He had attempted to jog Anzu's memory by telling her the story, but it didn't work. She just gave him a very confused look. Yugi had given up.

            The person at the door peered inside. This teenage boy, eighteen years old, was the reason Yugi was here. He had beaten him up -- along with others -- and gave him a very nasty wound. It became infected, and he wound up in the hospital. He was pressed with charges, along with the others, and was brought to court. It was a nation-wide thing about bullying.

            And Jonouchi could kick himself for starting it. He hovered at the doorway, not quite sure if he should go in or not. Yugi didn't seem to be paying any attention to anyone besides himself _anyway, so he felt at free liberty to walk into the room._

            "Umm, Yugi?" Jonouchi said slowly, watching Yugi. Yugi spun around and dropped his arms, staring at Jonouchi. He seemed... excited?

            "Jonouchi?" he asked, an edge to his voice. Jonouchi, his hands in his uniform pockets, shrugged.

            "Yeah," was all he said. Yugi seemed overly excited to see him. Then his expression changed; his eyes became less excited, his features falling. He looked at his curled hands, moving his fingers around. 

            "I suppose you're not the same Jonouchi-kun I remember," he said, a definite drop to his voice. Jonouchi raised his eyebrows.

            _Jonouchi-kun? [1] he thought, but pushed it aside. Jonouchi stood at the edge of the bed. _

            Yugi looked so _strange; he was in perfect health, and he acted differently then he remembered. Jonouchi looked at his feet, then up at Yugi. Yugi seemed set on not looking at Jonouchi. Jonouchi opened his mouth to say something, when a shrill voice came from the doorway._

            "Jonouchi Katsuya!" Both Jonouchi and Yugi looked up. Anzu was in the doorway, glaring at Jonouchi. She marched into the room, still glaring at him. Jonouchi just stared back.

            "_What makes you think you're allowed in here?" she demanded. Jonouchi held up his hands in a defense position._

            "Listen, Anzu," he started. "It's alright. They let me in. Didn't you notice the open door and the police? Listen, it's _okay._" Anzu didn't seem convinced. She sat down in a metal chair at the end of Yugi's bed, and crossed one leg over the other, her eyes locked on Jonouchi. Jonouchi rolled his eyes. 

            "There is supposed to be someone watching you at all times," she muttered. Jonouchi sighed as he sat down next to Yugi's bed, farther up, near his body.

            "Anzu," he said softly. "_Trust_ me."

            "Fuck that," she answered, crossing her arms. Jonouchi scoffed and turned to Yugi.

            "Listen, Yugi," he said, leaning closer to him. Yugi looked up at him. "I suppose you know about what I did..." Yugi shrugged.

            "I honestly don't remember, Jonouchi," he said. He looked back down at his hands. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy, I'm sure you've heard." Jonouchi nodded. 

            "What is it you're talking about, Yugi?" he asked. Yugi shrugged.

            "It's just... I don't remember you ever hurting me," he said, looking straight at Jonouchi. He stared right into Jonouchi's eyes, trying to see past this outer Jonouchi. But he couldn't see anything. All he saw was the bully he once was. Yugi wanted to cry. He felt so lost and afraid, and he wished this dream was real, until--

            He saw him. He saw the playful, funny, slightly hentai Jonouchi that lay underneath. Yugi almost laughed with joy.

            _He was real._ The Jonouchi he remembered was buried deep within this one!

            _What's going on?_ Yugi thought. He jumped back a little ways. He looked at Anzu, then back at Jonouchi.

            "Jonouchi... Would you like to hear what I've been dreaming about?" Jonouchi looked taken aback. "You know, what I _thought_ was going on this whole time." Jonouchi shrugged.

            "Sure."

_~~Yugi's thoughts_

Well, Anzu is not alone in her confusion. Jonouchi is now confused as well. But I swear, when I looked at his eyes... I could see the old Jonouchi somewhere inside him. This isn't some alternate reality. 

            This is the one we've been living in the entire time. Somehow, we were changed, forced to forget everything. Except, of course, I wasn't. I know. I know _everything._

            While I was telling Jonouchi the story, he looked like he would agree with some things I said. He also gave a surprised look a couple times, as if he _knew_ what I was talking about. If only there was some inkling of proof I could show them!! Even a piece of the Puzzle would do! But I can't. I can't, because no one would believe me anyway. I couldn't convince everyone else, but maybe, just maybe, I could convince the two people in the room with me.

            I don't know the _entire story of what happened to me. All I know is, I've been very, very sick and comatose for the last two years, and then I wake up, and everything is _different._ Not only that, but I'm suddenly fine! As if I've been asleep or something! It's all so _stupid!!_ According to Jonouchi and Anzu, I was beat up by Jonouchi, Honda, and some other guys from school. I guess I managed to get myself home, but I was bleeding a lot and in really bad shape. One of my wounds was deeply infected, and I collapsed. I wasn't found until nearly four hours later._

            They thought I was dead. I was rushed to the hospital, where they were in the ER for nearly 12 hours with me. Finally, they gave some medicine to calm me down, and I guess that wasn't a smart move, because I fell into a coma and have been that way since.

            I was dumbstruck when I heard the story. It was too much to believe.

            "Wait," I said, holding out my arm. "So, I've been _here_ the past two years?"

            "Yes," Jonouchi said, looking at his hands. He was hunched over, his hands limp in his lap. Anzu closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

            "It was all so much, Yugi," she said softly. "Jonouchi and the rest of _them haven't gone anywhere without a police escort in seven months." Jonouchi nodded, still avoiding my eyes. _

            "It's all our -- my -- fault," he said. He looked at me, and I saw tears in his eyes. "And you said I was your friend?"

            "Yes," I answered for the umpteenth time. I wanted Jonouchi and Anzu to stop looking so sad and confused.

            That's it. I _have to convince them that what I lived was real. That this is all some strange illusion! I saw the real Jonouchi and Anzu, and they recognized my story! I _have_ to find proof for them!!_

            Maybe the reason I remember is because of the Millennium Puzzle!

_~~_

            Yugi was released the next day. Since there was nothing _wrong_ with him, why bother keeping him there? The doctors and nurses who had struggled for two years were all baffled. Yugi voted on walking back with his father, so he could scope out his new environment.

            He was shocked at what he saw. 

            "Oh my God," Yugi whispered as they left the more industrious part of town, to arrive in the area where the Game Shop was located. It wasn't the fact that everything was different, that shocked him. It was--

            Everything was the _same. Yugi stared in disbelief as the familiar school building loomed in front of him, growing larger in the distance. Since it was around noon, everyone was still in the building, actually at school. Yugi figured he'd never be able to go __there again. He was itching to see his friends, or at least the people who once were his friends. _

            He was _more interested in how they acted now._

            The Kame Game Shop was in the distance, still partially hidden by trees. There was a closed sign on the door, but his father slipped the key in the keyhole and let the two of them in. Yugi looked around, seeing everything as it pretty much usually was. The only difference was the people running the shop. 

            Yugi looked around, taking in the familiar sights. He acted eight rather then eighteen.

            "It's exactly the same," he muttered. Jonah laughed.

            "Well, of course it is," he said. "You don't think _just_ because you were always complaining about it being out-of-date that I would just up and change it, do you?" Yugi gave a weak smile and followed his father into the inner holds of the Shop.

            That's where the changes started. Instead of the large, spacious room being particularly empty, it was filled with pictures, furniture and other furnishings. Yugi gasped, stopping in the doorway.

            "Wow," he breathed. Jonah looked down at his son with confusion.

            "Something wrong?" he asked. Yugi shook his head, then ran through the room and up the stairs. Jonah watched as he ran to his room.

            "God, he acts like he's never _been here before," Jonah muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked around the room and decided to tidy up a bit, since his son was back home again._

            Yugi arrived to his closed bedroom door. He was almost afraid to open it. His hand lingered on the brass knob, as if it would open for him. Mutou Rachel stopped behind him, watching him. She was headed downstairs.

            "Yugi?" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Yugi jumped and gripped the doorknob tighter, breathing hard. He had been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed her presence.

            "Oh, mom," he said, sighing. "Sorry, I..." he trailed off. Rachel placed her hand on top of his.

            "I shut it two years ago," she said softly. "Neither I, nor your father have entered it since. We thought you would never come back." She closed her eyes and bowed her head, as if she would be crying soon. "We didn't want to be reminded of what we lost."

            "So you haven't been in there since?" Yugi asked.

            "Not since we found you in there. At least, I haven't. Your father, being the neat-freak that he is, sometimes goes in there to make sure everything is in order." She opened her eyes and kissed Yugi's cheek, then proceeded downstairs. Yugi turned the knob and pushed open the door. With his eyes closed, he stepped into his old bedroom.

_~~Yugi's thoughts_

            It was _exactly the same as I remembered it. My desk was in front of me against the wall under those bid windows, which sunlight was pouring out of. My bookshelves were pushed against the far wall, the table beside the door, the shelves on the walls... My bed was still made on the other wall. For God sakes, my school books were still open from where I guess I had left them._

            So maybe the Millennium Puzzle _was all a dream. I walked forwards and sat down in my desk chair. A thin layer of dust had formed over the books, making them hard to read. I looked up at the two big picture windows, with the bright sunlight pouring into them and onto the desk. My eyes fell onto the far wall, the one my desk was pushed against. My heart fell like it fell out of my chest as I noticed the lack of photos tacked up. I used to have so many photos of me and my friends tacked up there... I put my hand on the wall._

            "I miss it," I whispered. "I miss the way things were."

            All I had left to do now was to see the people who were once my friends. 

            I sat there for what seemed like forever. I was just staring at my books, my chin resting on the pages. And, for some strange reason, no memory of that day came to me. The farthest I could remember back before the Millennium Puzzle was solved was when I helped Jonouchi and Honda with Ushio. I stood up for them... Then I solved the Puzzle. 

            Obviously, that didn't happen.

            It was then that I saw something glinting out of the corner of my eye. It was in the corner of the room on a shelf, completely hidden from my vision. I could see a tiny speck of gold underneath a blanket. My heart quickened in my chest.

            It was the Puzzle Box! Oh my God! It was!! The Millennium Puzzle! Excited, I ran across the room, threw the blanket aside--

            It _wasn't the Puzzle Box. It was a school book, and the kanji on the front of the book and the spine of the book were done in some type of glinting gold fabric. I threw the book to the floor and sullenly stood in the center of the room, my hopes dashed._

            How can this be my life? My life used to be exciting, with a lot of different people involved, and I used to be part of the sacred pact of Osiris... I was smart, I had lots of friends, I was an expert duelist--

            And I had the Pharaoh on my side. Now he wasn't here. Or, what if... This thought lingered in my mind. I couldn't get it to leave me alone.

            What if he didn't exist at all? I shook my head. No, don't think like that, I commanded myself. Of _course he existed!! He was the Pharaoh! Not existing might have messed up time! I mean, he probably existed just without... The Puzzle._

            I looked at the clock. It flashed 3:09 at me. School had been out for nine minutes.

            I was intrigued to see my friends walk by. Almost everyone in the school had to pass this area, since we were on a corner. Downtown was just a few blocks later on.

            "Mom," I called as I raced down stairs. "I'm gonna sit outside for awhile." I ran out the door of the Game Shop to be met with the traffic that was around here every single day. I sat down on the bench that was partially hidden by bushes and shaded by trees near the Shop, and waited until the students passed.

            "I wonder..." I said to myself, biting my lower lip. I looked through the milling crowd, trying to see a familiar face.

            When I saw one. 

            Not one I meant to see, however. I had to cover my mouth with my hand so I wouldn't cry out.

            Bakura Amane was impatiently waiting for someone. She was leaning against the rail at the edge of the road, where the city ended and the sea began. She was wearing that familiar white school uniform from the all girls school in Tokyo. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting her hair billow out in the breeze. It was a pretty mahogany color, and it was very long, reaching down her back. She was a very lovely twenty-two-year-old girl, except for the fact that she was dead.

            But she was standing in front of me, alive and well, waiting, most likely, for Ryou. And then_ he showed up._

            "Amane!" Amane turned and smiled. Ryou ran up to her and leaned on the rail beside her, talking animatedly.

            Of course. Duh. Ryou was much _quieter_ before because of Amane's untimely death. The two walked away, Ryou a very different person then I remembered.

            _One down._

            Soon, more of my classmates came by. They walked by without even noticing me, not that I wanted them to. Most of them were pretty much the same, except they were wearing different school uniforms. I saw Anzu go by, talking to someone I didn't know. I didn't see Jonouchi, Honda or Otogi, but I was surprised to see Shizuka walk by. She was talking to someone that was in my class, a guy who was probably two years older then herself. She was holding his arm and watching him intently, but she wasn't really focused on him. She seemed to strain herself in listening then watching.

            Wait... Didn't Otogi and Honda always fight over her? Why weren't they there? And why wasn't Jonouchi telling this guy off? He got _very_ protective when it came to Shizuka. Yet...

            Oh. My. God.

            Shizuka wasn't focused on that guy... _because she had cataracts in her eyes. She couldn't see him!_

            She was blind! I nearly fell off the bench as she walked by. No wonder she was hanging onto him! No _wonder she seemed shaky with each step! She couldn't see!_

            I straightened myself up, and shook my head. It was a complete and total shock. I had _never thought of that! Shizuka was affected by Jonouchi becoming a duelist! And with Duel Monsters existing, there was no way for her to have that operation! It was then that the full power and persuasion of the Item's existence sunk in. Nearly everyone's lives were affected by this._

            _Is everyone like this now, too?_

_~~_

            Anzu didn't want to scare him, but he wasn't paying attention. She was stepped onto the grass and pushed branches aside as she approached the bench Yugi was perched on. She tapped his shoulder lightly, making him spin around.

            "Anzu!"

            "I'm sorry," she said quickly, then she sat down. The two sat there for a few minutes not saying anything. Then--

            "Is everything different?" Anzu asked. Yugi shrugged.

            "Yes and no. I mean, my home is different, I guess because my dad is alive, but still... That's not much of a difference." Anzu nodded. "And the people who were once my friends all seem pretty different... From what I've seen." He looked up at Anzu. "Where are Jonouchi and Honda and Otogi?" Anzu shrugged.

            "Those three? They're some of the people responsible for this mess," she explained. "They come into school, leave school, sometimes there hear a full day, sometimes they're pulled out for some legal reason..." She waved one of her hands in a flip-flop motion as if to say _Whatever__. Yugi just looked at the grass underneath his feet._

            "I wish I could find proof," he said, balling his hands into fists. "Pictures or something, you know? Maybe to prove that I'm either right or wrong." Anzu smiled and stood.

            "I have to get home," she explained, laying her bag on her shoulder. "You do what you want to, Yugi. I'm just glad you're alive." Yugi smiled at her receding back, then leaned against the back of the bench.

            "I guess, if I don't find anything soon," he whispered to himself. "I'll forget everything." Because, try as he might, he couldn't remember what he had been doing. The last thing he remembered was a blur. And many of the other things he went through.

            It was fading from his memory.

            Anzu pushed her bed back into place, the small pile of debris being dumped into a trash bag.

            "Are you sure you want to get rid of all these papers, Anzu?" her mother asked. Anzu nodded and poured in some more things. 

            "Under my bed was so messy with all these school papers."

            "Your desk as well." Anzu dropped another pile in, wiping her hands on the rug and smiling. Dust circulated in the room, making her cough a little. She fell back onto her palms, papers rustling aside. She opened her eyes and brushed dust off her face, when she saw a small amount of color in the corner of her eyes. 

            It was a photo. Without her mother noticing, she grabbed up the small pile and dumped them on her bed, dropping her pillow on top of them.

            "Well, that's everything," her mother said, and she hauled the trash bag out of the room. Anzu closed her bedroom door and grabbed the photos in her hands. Her eyes widened as she stared at the three photos. 

            "How-- How--" she said, staring at them. Her hands shook, then she dropped them, scared at the mental image that had flashed through her mind.

            She _remembered these times. When these photos were taken. Breathing hard, she was determined to go to Yugi. But it was late, nearly nine thirty._

            "Tomorrow," she vowed, looking down at the photos. "I'll show him tomorrow." The reason she was so hyped up was because she saw _herself,_ Yugi, Jonouchi, Ryou, Honda, Otogi, and Shizuka, arm-in-arm, wearing Duel Disks, the Millennium Puzzle hanging from Yugi's neck.

*******************************************

**_Footnotes:_**

**[1] Jonouchi-kun:** "kun" is a suffix used when talking about a male friend who is a teenager or adult. So, you commonly hear in YGO "Jonouchi-kun", "Honda-kun" and "Bakura-kun". Sometimes "Otogi-kun" and "Yugi-kun" or "Kaiba-kun" (yugi says EVERYONE "kun" in the first series, the one that was cancelled? I swear to GOD... he's like fricken "sky-kun" for gods sakes!) You would normally address Mokuba as "Mokuba-chan" because he's ten, and all girls would be like "Anzu-chan" and such. Someone you know or work with would be, like "Isis-san" and someone you look up to like a boss or a priest would be like "Malik-sama" and "Pharaoh-sama" and such. ^^

**~*~*~*~**

So, just so yall know, this fic might not be very long... Of course it can be very long... It all comes down to timing. Whether I have Yugi notice the box or not. ^^ Newayz... I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took a long time to write and plan. I hope you all enjoyed it very much.

**Shibby****-One**


	4. Three

**GOMEN-NESAI!!! I'm so sorry for taking so long to update!! Here is your long-awaite update!**

thank-you to the lovely people who reviewed. Luv ya.

Note this: this chap is more about Yugi's family and how they were affected by the Puzzle. Also, where the Millennium Puzzle is actually at.

*************************************************

**3**

          Yugi's soft breathing and small, inconspicuous moans were all that could be heard while he slept. He was sleeping uncomfortably, not even naturally. He had been drugged because he couldn't get to sleep easily. It wasn't until at least one in the morning that he finally fell asleep. Spread out on the couch, he was sleeping now, his face peaceful, a blanket casually thrown over his body. Jonah was sitting at the end of the couch, his son's head in his lap. He gently pushed his blonde, spiky bangs off 

his sweaty forehead.

          "He's coming down with a fever," Jonah diagnosed as Rachel walked into the room. She sat down on a stool, a mug cupped in her hands. She sighed as she watched a thin trail of steam trickle up into the air. She turned her gaze from the mug, to Jonah, then back down again. Jonah wasn't paying much attention to her, anyway. Yugi's face was deathly white, but his cheeks were rosy, the fever causing him to change colors. Rachel wanted to say something at that moment, the thing that was lingering on her mind. But she was afraid of how Jonah would react…. Besides, it was such a random moment to ask this question...

          She _had_ to.

          "Jonah?" she asked timidly, looking up at him. "Jonah-sa?" Jonah cast his eyes her way, looking up expectantly, patiently waiting for an answer.

          "Yes?" Rachel looked at her hands, then back at her husband.

          "Why – when we had the chance – why didn't we have more than one child?" Jonah seemed taken aback, then looked down at Yugi, who was still sleeping. He shrugged.

          "I don't know, Rachel. No time. And besides, I thought you _couldn't_ have any more children." Rachel blushed and looked away.

          "But, I mean, when Yugi was really young, I still could."

          "I was also half way around the world. In _Egypt__?_" Jonah said, smiling at her. Rachel shrugged, still avoiding his eyes. He pushed the blonde spikes of bangs out of Yugi's face and raced his cool hands down his cheek, hoping to cool his body down. Yugi had been having mini fevers late at night for a few days, since he woke. Some type of side-effect to his medicines.

          "Why do you ask?"

          "I was just curious." She sighed as she watched Yugi closely. The poor boy, he looked so terrible in his state. Rachel just wanted to get up and hug him, believe everything he says... But she can't. Because nothing he said was true.

          "When do you think Yugi will have to go back to school?" Jonah asked suddenly, looking up at Rachel. She shrugged.

          "I don't know..." Rachel answered. "Can he _ever_ go back? He did miss two years of school..."

          "But when he took the practice tests, he passed. He seems to know the material." Rachel sighed, angry that Yugi even _had_ to go back to school. Why couldn't he just stay home, and be her little boy once more?

          "Well, it would be awkward for him _and_ his classmates, you know. He might be shunned or something..."

          "Rachel," Jonah said sternly. Rachel looked at his serious face, his angry eyes staring at her. "He _has_ to go back. He's eighteen years old. He may be a little sick now, but he _will_ get better. Don't deny it. You just want him to stay home, don't you? _Don't you?!_" Jonah seemed angry now. Rachel's lower lip quivered, tears rolling down her face. She broke into small, soft sobs, her hands covering her face. Jonah softened and put his hand on her shoulder, Yugi groaning a bit.

          "Rachel," he whispered. "Don't cry. Please." Rachel nodded and sniffed. "I'm sorry, it's just... He _has_ to return to school. You saw the tests; it's baffling, it doesn't make sense, but he's up to date with his classmates, and he _has_ to re-join them." Rachel sighed, her breath shaking, and nodded slowly. 

          "You're right. We should go talk to the school about it...."

          "Tomorrow, earliest." They sat there, silently for awhile. Yugi seemed only half-asleep, his breathing slow, his eyes blinking as they opened. He was fully awake now. His head was laying on his father's lap, Jonah's arms over his back protectively. Yugi smiled softly, and attempted to lift himself up.

          "Whoa, there," Jonah said, pushing him back down. Yugi tried to sit up, and was able to this time with Jonah's help. He leaned on his father's shoulder, his cheeks still rosy, his face still pale, looking like he would rather be asleep then awake.

          "You should still be sleeping, Yugi," Rachel said. Yugi yawned and nodded. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body. Immediately, he was asleep once more.

          "That was strange."

          "He must have been uncomfortable in his position."

          "Hell, I would be, too."

          "Think he heard us?"

          "Nah."

_~~Yugi's thoughts_

          _"Yugi," Jonouchi said, dropping the golden box on my desk. "Can I see them _now?_"_

_          "Jonouchi!" I said, taking it away. "No! Mou hitori no boku had to go through hell to get these! I can't just go around, showing them off!" Jonouchi held his hands in a defensive position, still smiling._

_          "I didn't mean that, Yug'," he said, leaning forwards again. "It's just.... The god cards--"_

_          "You've seen them in action already, Jonouchi," I said, starting to laugh. "You can't use them."_

_          "Please?"_

_          "No!"_

_          "What are you two arguing about?" Anzu drifted over, leaning against the desk, staring down at me and Jonouchi._

_          "Jonouchi wants the god cards," I explained. Ryou, who was behind me, laughed._

_          "Jonouchi-kun," he said, a small chuckle in his voice, "You've seen them in action -- isn't that good enough?"_

_          "Argh!" Jonouchi cried. "Why does everyone keep _telling_ me that? I know that!" He turned to the side, fuming about it._

_          "You have good cards, Jonouchi," Anzu said, pulling her own deck from her pocket. She shuffled through it, her eyes darting over the cards."_

_          "So?" Jonouchi said, frowning. "They're not _god_ cards."_

_          "I thought you loved your cards, Jonouchi," Honda said from behind him. Jonouchi spun around in his chair, his blonde hair flying as he spun._

_          "I do!" he protested. "Especially the Red Eyes and the cards Yug' gave me. But still..."_

_          "They're dangerous," I explained for the umpteenth time. "And they're to be used to find mou hitori no boku's memory, so _no one can lose them. _Meaning you, Jonouchi-kun."_

          A memory. A flashback. Something from my 'dream', the life I never lived.

          How do you have flashbacks from a dream? 

          I'm starting to think that I really did dream all that. I mean, it was pretty extravagant, but people have amazing dreams all the time. Anyway, wouldn't my dad still be dead anyway? Yes, he would. Exactly.

          And besides, I can't even _remember_ when that was. It was sometime after Battle City.... Or was it before? No, wait, the god cards were _after_ Battle City... What about that other tournament? Duelist... What was it?

          Oh God.

          I can't remember.

          For the past week I've been struggling to hold onto the things I remember from that time, but it's not working. I've been forgetting more things everyday, just random moments in time with my friends or during a duel (That's what they're called, right?) that come to me. Then they leave again. I didn't really want this one to go, even though I wasn't quite sure what was going on.

          Someone was approaching me from across the street. I _was_ sitting outside the Game Shop. It was nice out, the sun dappling through the leaves on the tress that hid the Shop from view.

          It was Anzu.

          "Yugi-kun," she called, running up to me, her bag bouncing against her side. It was around three o'clock, meaning school was out. Anzu sat down beside me on the bench, smiling broadly. Beaming.

          "What is it, Anzu?" I asked, mildly curious. A soft breeze picked up her hair, flinging it backwards out into the sun, small leaves billowing by. She positively glowed.

          "You're being talked about all over school!" she announced. "Everyone is _astounded _by you! You're a literal living miracle!" I smiled, not sure if I liked being talked about all over school. "The teacher received your tests, the ones that you took to see which classes to be placed in? You scored in some of the highest categories! And you missed two years of schooling! Of course," Anzu frowned, muttering swears under her breath. "Some people think you're cheating, or maybe just trying to prove yourself better then them. But I don't believe them,_"_ she added quickly.

          "It's okay, Anzu-chan," I said, smiling at her. She smiled back, then turned to the street.

          "When are you coming back?" She asked, turning to me once more. I shrugged.

          "I can't," I explained, not looking her in the eye. I settled on her elegant hands, folded in her lap, her clothes rustling from the breeze.

          "You can't? Why not?" Anzu asked, looking straight at my face. "You took the education tests – hell, you're better then half the class! They expected to have to put you in one of those make-up courses for a few years! Actually," she said thoughtfully, putting her hand on her chin, "they thought you would be kept in the hospital for a few months after you woke…" I shrugged.

          "Well… We'll see, I guess," I said, watching a solitary leaf on the ground. It darted forwards a bit, then stopped, folding up and lifting into the air with great speed. Anzu followed my gaze. "My mo – my parents haven't said anything about school yet, so I suppose I'll continue living here, in the Game Shop."

          "You can't live here forever, Yugi," she said, her fists settled on her thighs.

          "So?" I asked, turning back to her. "It's not like it's crucial for me to go back right away, anyway. I just woke up, and…" I gulped. "I have to get used to everything." Anzu seemed at her limit. I turned away once more, settling on the gravel that made up the sidewalk, when she stood up, hands on her hips.

          "Mutou Yugi," she said, annoyed. "Are you telling me you're _scared?"_ I closed my eyes. Was I scared? Was I terrified to return back to that large, looming, brick jail? 

          I am.

          I nodded. Anzu stared down at me, shock and humor mingling her features.

          "Why, Yugi, I have to say that I am surprised at you," she said, shaking her head. "I thought you would...." She trailed off, a confused look on her face. "Wait a minute... What did I just say? Did I just say that?" I nodded. It _was_ odd; the only reason I had gained confidence was because I solved the Millennium Puzzle and befriended Jonouchi. If that never happened...

          How could Anzu _know_ that?

_~~_

          Anzu blinked, then looked down at Yugi. Yugi had a strange, far-away look to his eyes. Almost as if he were seeing something Anzu could not. His face broke into a smile, a smile that lit up all his features. It stretched from cheek to cheek, his eyes erupting with flames.

          "...You remember that, don't you, Anzu?" he asked, turning to her. Anzu, who was befuddled, shrugged.

          "I don't know... All I know is, for some reason, I remember you as being really courageous and...." she trailed off once more. "...No offense, Yugi, but... You're not the most courageous person in our school...." Yugi waved it away.

          "That doesn't matter. What _matters_ is you _remember._ Oh, wow, that's incredible!" Anzu was left in the dark. She slid her hands into her pockets, watching Yugi talk to himself.

          "...She remembers me being courageous... But that only happened because of Jonouchi and Honda.... Bakura had some help, too... With the duel in the Pharaoh's tomb... Oh my God, I remember!" He looked up at Anzu, excitement glittering in his face. Anzu smiled a small smile. She was glad he was smiling again...

          But his incoherent mutters made no sense whatsoever. Anzu just let him talk to himself for a time, slowly inching away, until - 

          She felt them. The photos. They were in her pocket!

          She forgot all about them! She had meant to speak to Yugi about them last week, but he hadn't been feeling well, and she had completely forgotten!

          "Yugi!" she cried, lunging forwards. Yugi looked up.

          "Anzu?"

          "Yugi! I forgot!" She plopped back down beside him, and pulled the glossy photos from her pocket. There were only three, but they were three _convincing_ photos. Yugi's eyes widened as he saw them. He reached out and took them in his own hands, staring at them and looking them over. 

          "...My God...." he whispered after a time. He was staring at the photo that had all of them with Duel Disks and linked arms. Anzu peered over his shoulder, a resounding shudder racing through her. Yugi gently touched the surface, running his fingers around the outline of them all, as if they were all attached.

          _This is a photo that had been hanging on my wall,_ he thought to himself. _I know it is. I remember it._ He smiled.

          "Anzu... Where did you get this?" he asked, turning it over.

          "I found it under my bed," Anzu explained. "What is it?"

          "It's a scene from my... life." Anzu raised her eyebrows.

          "Your life?"

          "The one..... The one I dreamed," Yugi said, hurt twanging his voice. Anzu's face fell.

          "What does it mean, Yugi?" she asked, hanging onto his arm. Yugi shrugged.

          "I honestly don't know, Anzu," Yugi said truthfully. "It scares me to think about, really." They both stared at the photo, it's glossy surface reflecting sunlight. 

          "....Maybe.... it proves you're not crazy," Anzu added helpfully. Yugi turned to her.

          "How so?" he said suspiciously.

          "Maybe it proves that you really did lead a life like..... Oh," Anzu said, her eyes glazing over. She took the photo gently from Yugi's hands, Yugi staring at her in surprise and wonder. Anzu held it in her hands, staring at it, her face one of amazement. She touched it gently, as if trying to reach the non-existent smiles in the photo.

          "....I.... Remember..." she said in a soft whisper. So soft, Yugi had to strain to hear her. 

          "W-what?" Yugi stammered, his voice with a definite up-turn. "You remember it....?" She suddenly snapped out of her daze. She stared at the photo, then looked at Yugi, and then looked back at the photo.

          "I-I do!" she stammered. "I remember it, definitely!" Yugi beamed, disbelief flashing through him.

          "Incredible!" he cried, and the two joyously looked back at the photo.

          "You're not crazy," Anzu decided. "If you were, how could I physically see and remember this time?"

          "Now I just have to convince everyone else...." Yugi said, looking sideways at the sun. It seemed to taunt him with it's golden light, beaming down on the two of them. 

          "...Maybe....." Anzu looked over the photo, taking in every incredible detail of her memory. She continued to say things like "I remember you!" and "That was that day..." Yugi's eyes wandered over to the road, where cars went occasionally, and people roamed...

          Someone was stepping onto the curb, a bag hanging off his shoulder, still clad in a Domino High uniform. He had a bandage on his left cheek, and a silver, metal bracelet-type instrument on his right leg. He stepped through the grass and under the trees, pushing leaves out of his face. Yugi saw him and smiled.

          Jonouchi stepped into view, his eyes on the photo.

          ".....Hi...." he said warily. "Um...."

          "Sit down, Jonouchi," Yugi said, nodding to the spaced beside him on the bench. Jonouchi looked surprised for a moment, then glance over his shoulder. He then turned back, and walked over slowly. He eased himself down, not sure if Yugi truly trusted him yet or not. Anzu was glaring at him, making him feel even more unwanted.

          "Anzu, cut it out," Yugi said, tapping her arm. She scoffed and turned away. Yugi sighed and turned back to Jonouchi.

          "I thought you weren't allowed here," Anzu snapped, before Yugi could say something. Yugi rolled his eyes.

          "An~zu..."

          "I got permission, Mazaki," Jonouchi shot right back. "Yugi's parents know I'm here." Anzu tsked and turned away, still looking at the photo. Jonouchi sighed and turned to Yugi.

          "How are you?" he asked, a bit shaky. Yugi wondered if his act of friendship and kindness towards him was unexpected.

          "I'm fine, Jonouchi," Yugi said straight-forward. "Anzu tells me I've been the topic of discussion at school."         

          "She's right. You have."

          Silence. Yugi found he didn't much like the silence. He had only heard silence for the past two years; even after his miraculous recovery he hated silence.

          "....Are you nervous by being here?" Yugi asked suddenly, surprising both Jonouchi and Anzu.

          "What?" they both said as Yugi stared hard at Jonouchi.

          "Well....." Jonouchi said, shrugging. He looked at his hands. "I guess so."

          "Really?" Anzu said in disbelief. Jonouchi nodded.

          "I actually thought you would be a lot colder towards me," Jonouchi admitted. "I didn't even think you would allow me near here, let alone would Anzu shut up." Anzu stuck out her tongue at him.

          "Why?" Yugi asked innocently. Jonouchi raised his eyebrows.

          ".....Yugi..." he said, looking back down at his hands. "It's, well.... I guess something really did happen to you, if you don't remember," he said softly. Yugi suddenly remembered.

          _That's right,_ he thought to himself. _Jonouchi and the others hurt me so bad, that I got infected..._ His thoughts turned into complex and disorganized ideas, ones that made his head spin. Anzu put the photo down in her lap.

          "Yugi," she said. "I really think something must have happened to you besides what really did. You know, something...."

          "....Psychological," Jonouchi finished, a bit uneasy. Yugi shrugged.

          "You know my story." Jonouchi nodded, and leaned forward, running his hands through his hair. He turned to Anzu, about to say something, when he noticed the photo in her hands.

          "What's that?" he said, pointing to the photo. Anzu looked down, then at Jonouchi.

          "A photo," she said coldly. Yugi sighed once more.

          "Anzu, let Jonouchi see. He's in it, too," Yugi said softly. Jonouchi turned to him in surprise.

          "I am?"

          "Just let him see." Anzu reluctantly handed the photo over. Jonouchi took it in his hands, and glanced over it. His eyes widened in surprise, and his jaw dropped slightly at the strange sight before him.

**.**

**.**

          Jonah was rummaging through a large cardboard box, one he hadn't seen in years.

          "Oh, God, this stuff is _old,_" he commented, pushing old clothing and dusty, faded photos aside. He sighed and stretched his back. He glanced out the window, seeing the three sit in front of the Game Shop.

          "He's really a good boy, Jonouchi," he commented to himself. He shook his head. "He just took the wrong path..." He put the box down onto the floor, and turned around. The storage room needed _serious_ cleaning. He saw another box slightly smaller on a shelf. Faded words were written in black marker on it. He was curious, and walked over, dusting the side off.

          It read _Yugi_ in kanji.

          "Yugi, ne?" he said, laughing to himself. "Something from Dad, I bet." He pulled the little box off the shelf, and carefully opened the old tape. He frowned as he saw a pile of old notebooks at the top.

          "What the..." he said, pulling them out. Each was a different color, each labeled something different in his own handwriting. He recognized it, although it was very old handwriting. It had to be at least fifteen years old.

          "When did I.... Oh," Jonah gasped, seeing something else. A treasure. It was wrapped partially in a faded cloth, with a piece of paper pinned to it. He took the paper and read it carefully.

          _To Yugi, if I don't make it back._ It was signed with his signature.

          "What the hell..." He unwrapped the cloth, and his eyes widened, the gold glinting in the dying sunlight. The hieroglyphs were etched perfectly, as if someone had used a computer to place them. Set in real gold, it shined back at him, making his eyes light up. The side of it had strange symbols, ones he had never seen in his life. Hieroglyphs he didn't recognize.

          "Whoa..." he whispered, whistling. "This is one mighty fine artifact. I wonder why I have it..." He carefully lifted the sculpted lid, careful not to damage anything loose or old... He tilted the box towards himself, eager to see what was inside. 

          He was looking into an empty, golden box.

*************************************************

*hits head* im sorry for taking so long, really! Well, i hope you enjoyed this chappp!

Tata~

**Shibby****-One**

**_~in essence, we're all angels ourselves.~_**


	5. Four

**I AM SO VERY SORRY... THIS FIC CONTINUES TO SLIP MY MIND. HOWEVER, NOW THAT I'VE FINISHED TWO FICS, I'LL CONCENTRATE ON THIS MORE, PROMISE.**

So. Chapter four. Yippee. **Readers: Yay. An Update.** Me: Go figure. ANYWAY... yeah. So i didnt clear up where the Puzzle actually is in the last chap... which you people probably dont care anyway, but... i shall write...

*************************************************

**4**

.

.

_~~Yugi's thoughts_

          Jonouchi and Anzu are at least on my side _now._ They saw the photos, they saw the moments from my 'dream' in reality. Although it seems like Anzu loathes Jonouchi, she still agreed with him on how strange it was.

          "It doesn't add up," she said, looking from me to the photos. "How could we be in this photo... and... We... This never happened... What?" She shook her head, holding it up to the light. "Is it fake?"

          "Looks genuine," Jonouchi muttered, taking it from her. "Yep, looks real enough to me." The three of us sat there, staring at the photos. In my head, my thoughts were whirring around, bouncing off one another and zooming to different parts of me.

          How could these photos have been taken? This never happened! Well, it did, but only in my head... But these are real! So where'd they come from? It doesn't make sense!

          I hate this type of thing. When everything is suddenly different... It gets all confusing and no one knows what's going on!!

          Can someone help us...? Please?

_~~_

          Anzu stood, turning to them. 

          "Let me get this straight," she said, pointing at Yugi. "This happened in your coma-dream, right?"

          "Yes, it did," Yugi assured her, nodding. Anzu raised her eyebrows.

          "But then... How...."

          "I don't know, Anzu," Yugi muttered truthfully. "I have no idea." Jonouchi looked from one to the other, then looked out to the street. A strong wind was blowing by.

          "Be careful," Yugi warned, standing. "Those could blow away."

          "I'll be careful, stop worrying," Anzu snapped, looking at them. Almost, as if on cue, a powerful, cold breeze blew right by, ripping the photos from her hands. Anzu's eyes widened and she spun around, staring after them.

          "Ahh!" she cried, taking off after them. She ran to the edge of a railing at the edge of a cliff. Domino ended in a cliffside, dropping about forty feet to the cold, rough ocean below. A rail ran all the way on the side, marking tourist's spots and danger signs. The photos were blown over the rail and out to sea...

          "Anzu, you idiot!" Jonouchi cried, running up beside her. "Look what you did!!" Anzu stared, dumbstruck.

          "I..." she whispered, falling to her knees. "No.... It can't be..."

          They had lost the photos.

          They're only proof.

          "Fuck," Jonouchi muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

.

.

          Jonah was surprised to see the defeated expression on his son's face when he entered the Game Shop, flopping down on a couch and sighing.

          "Now they still think I'm crazy..." Yugi muttered. He thought of all the people he'd seen, doctors, psychiatrists, physical instructors... They all came to the same conclusion.

          Yugi had a very, very vivid dream sparked by medicines. Kind of a fantasy, something he 'wished would happen', quote the report to his parents.

          Jonah walked into the room, watching Yugi's facial expression. He was staring at his hand in a defeated fashion, his eyelids drooping slightly. He blinked a couple of times, as if he would fall asleep any moment. Jonah sat down next to him on the couch.

          "...Yugi?" he said slowly, peering at him. Yugi turned his head to look at his father.

          "Yes?"

          "Are you alright?" Yugi thought for a moment, then shrugged. 

          "...I'm starting to think I really _am_ crazy..." he told his father, looking straight at him. Jonah was taken aback.

          "Oh, Yugi, don't think that," he said, placing his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "You're not crazy... There's just some things we can't explain about your condition right now is all, really..." Yugi shook his head, his eyes closing and leaning against his father's side. 

          "...This is so hard..." he whispered, breathing deeply. "I'm so sleepy..." Jonah smiled. This was a side-effect of some of his medication... Jonah tightened his grip on Yugi's shoulder.

          Jonah thought about the empty, golden box he had found upstairs, in the spare room. Were it's contents strewn around somewhere? Did the note really make sense to him? He shrugged and held onto Yugi, who was rapidly falling asleep. He closed his eyes and thought about it, trying to place it somewhere in his mind and memory. Had he seen it before?

          Soon, his thoughts drifted towards the last two years. He still couldn't believe that Yugi had come out of it with barely a scratch. The only thing wrong with him now was sometimes he couldn't sleep, and his temperature got a little high a few times, but those were side-effects of medications.

          ....Jonah still woke up every morning, thinking today would be the day he would get his son back. He kept forgetting that Yugi was alive and well. Actually, he couldn't really call Yugi's condition _alive and well_... Not up to his standards, anyway.

          "Yugi-chan, we're thinking about letting you go back to school... There's nothing wrong with you..."

          It was strange how there was absolutely nothing wrong with Yugi. He was perfectly healthy, up-to-date with his studies, and much perkier and happier post-coma then pre-coma. No one could explain it to them.

          It was, as they say, a real-life miracle.

          Jonah stood, taking Yugi's motionless body into his arms. The boy slept soundly, relaxing his shoulders. Even though Yugi had aged two years, his coma-like state stunted his growth a bit, making him grow only about another four inches. No one was sure if he would grow more.

          Jonah carried his son up the stairs and into Yugi's room, lowering his body to his bed slowly. Yugi stretched out and shifted his body, settling his head on his pillow. His soft breaths were the only sounds filling the room at the time as Jonah stood there, staring down at him.

          "We'll help you, Yugi," Jonah promised, and left the room.

_~~ Yugi's thoughts_

          Oh. My. God.

          School.

          I have to go.

          A school official came to the Game Shop today, wanting to talk with my parents. I had a suspicion about what it was about, especially when the official gave my this quizzical look.

          It was about my return to the high school.

          I listened in on the conversation. Strange, how I can be eighteen and a legal adult, and still not allowed to listen to these things. They can be talking about me, and it can be about the rest of _my_ life, and still...

          Japan is such an odd country.

          "...He's been through so much," my mother said, wringing her hands. The official shook his head.

          "He was unconscious. He doesn't remember it at all. All he remembers is that dream--"

          "That's it. He has confused, distorted ideas of actual people and actual places. He thought that Jonah was dead!!" My father chimed in here.

          "Apparently, he had this very extravagant dream that completely screwed his initial sense of reality," He explained, getting psychology mixed into this. "Although I think he should return to a school, the public one he attended before may not be so wise. He dreamed of the school very often, and seems to have a distorted idea of his classmates and his relations with them."

          He's talking about the stories I told them about me and my friends. Half of the people I was friends with before, in my dreams, were involved with my condition. They had beat me into submission, apparently.

          They argued for a few more minutes, my father switching sides, until they came to a conclusion.

          I'm going back.

          "He could use more human contact after his ordeal," the official said. "You can't shelter him his whole life. He needs to get used to more people." I gulped. This was not an idea I was too fond of. And anyway... I was still struggling to remember the dream. The only thing we had were photos, and now those are gone... And the only people who believe me are Anzu and Jonouchi... Since they say those photos...

          And what about the Puzzle? I remember it, although vaguely. The Millennium Puzzle... All I remember about it was this strange, unknown feeling zooming through my body, another entity inside of me, and a very, very difficult Puzzle to complete. Argh.

          And now... School.

          Joy of joys.

          My mom and dad called me into the room to talk to the school official.

          "Yugi, it's been decided that, in a few weeks time, you'll return to Domino High," my mother said slowly.

          "Less then that, if possible. His condition _is--_" the official started, but my father glared at him.

          "We _know_ his condition, thank you," he said darkly, shutting the official up. "In any case, you'll still receive lessons through mail and such until we've gotten everything figured out, which should be a few days. In the mean time, you should spend as much time here as possible."

          "It may seem rough, but you'll eventually get back into the swing of things," the official explained. "You'll want to spend as much time home as possible; you won't be seeing it much... Senior year is very difficult and exciting, if you put time and effort into it."

          "I will," I promised, not quite sure why I sounded so dead. Mom looked unsure, but Dad was smiling.

          "Thank you. When will...?"

          "Oh, tomorrow, if you can..." My father and the official discussed the time for a meeting to be held while I spoke to my mother.

          "This is gonna be tough, Yugi," she said, smiling. "I'm sure you can do it."

          "Let's hope so," I said, sighing.

_~~_

          Jonah rummaged around the attic, pushing boxes over.

          "Oh, God, what the hell is in these?" he said, dumping another box. He was eagerly searching for an old photo album to show Yugi...

          He pushed a small box aside. It slid into the floor with a crash and... a jangle?

          Something inside the box was in pieces.

          "Don't tell me I broke something..." Jonah moaned, kneeling down on the dusty floor. He pulled yellow tape from the box, pulling the flaps back. Dust greeted him in waves.

          "Oh -- ahhh -- dust!" he said between coughs, waving it away.

          "Jonah -- You okay?" Rachel's shrill voice called.

          "Yes, fine," Jonah said, blinking. He wiped his eyes behind his glasses, then bent down. He pushed a book aside to see the bottom of the box littered with dozens of gold pieces. Jonah reached down, ignoring the other items in the box, and lifted a handful of dusty pieces out. He brushed them off and peered at them quizzically.

          Each piece was an interesting shape, as if they would fit together in a weird way. Jonah brushed the thick dust off one to see a very shiny, metallic surface shining back at him, making him jump in surprise.

          "Holy... Bright," he muttered, dropping the piece into the box. "How many of these _are_ there? Seems like hundreds... _What _is _this_?" he said, looking at the other contents. Another box was inside the first, a white one, taped up. It was long and rectangular, although very fat as well. It seemed to contain something odd-shaped and heavy... It was labeled _DD._

          _What the..._ Jonah thought, pushing the box aside. He saw more glittering gold pieces. He seemed to have hit the jackpot for strange.

          With caution, he picked up a handful of golden pieces, fiddling with them in his hands. He dropped them, one by one, like water through his fingers, back into the box. He sat back on his heels, wondering where on earth all this strange stuff was coming from.

          "I'm sure I got it somewhere..." he muttered, shrugging. He picked up the box and held it out at arms length, finally deciding to bring it downstairs with him.

          "Maybe someone else'll recognize this stuff..."

.

.

          Yugi tossed and turned in his bed that night, thoughts flittering his mind, alongside worries and fears. Different things, like the photos, and the possibility of returning to school, his dream... His sanity... He was unable to fall asleep. Different thoughts and ideas plagued his mind like a sickness, keeping him conscious throughout the night.

          _What if I get harassed at school? What if everything is too different? What if I think someone is different then they actually are? What if I am crazy? What if those photos were the last proof that I'm _not_ crazy? What do I do then? All I have is my word and theirs!!_

          Yugi squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out all his thoughts. He shivered and shook, curled into a ball and wrapped his blankets around him like a cocoon. He just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep, let his subconscious take on these tasks. He wanted to wake up and be back with his friends, as if his dream was true. Like he had figured it was...

          His entire sense of reality, his entire being was in question. _Without the Pharaoh, what's my purpose?_ he wondered. _Do I really belong here? I seem to be making everything much more complex instead of easier..._

          He had to return to school in less then a week now. He was so nervous... He was afraid to make one mistake and have everyone think he was insane. Which he was now beginning to believe...

          _No, keep that out of your head,_ he commanded himself, shaking his head. But that one thought continued to haunt him like a curse. It dove down into his soul, the fact that he may not actually be needed like he was before, and maybe, just maybe, he wasn't even supposed to be here. Was that even a possibility in the long run? Was this just a wake-up call to him, literally? He could almost here a voice inside his head saying _What're you doing here? You're not worth anything. So why do you stay? No one needs you, you're unwanted, you're a curse, a plague..._

_          If anything,_ Yugi thought, _Whatever this is -- whatever elaborate test I'm being put through --_

_          I'm failing._

*************************************************

Short, I know, sorry. Next chap he returns to school *Squee* shall be fun to write, very! Well, I'll see you all later ~~

**Shibby-One**


	6. Five

Now Yugi shall return to school. Should be fun, ne? Cept… Im not quite sure how to type thisss…

**.............................................................**

**..**5**..**

.

.

          It was the morning Yugi had been dreading. He had tried to sleep as long as possible, but the sun was beaming into his eyes in the morning.

          He tried to avoid it as much as he could.

          His uniform was sitting on his desk chair; his books neatly stacked. He had caught up completely to his classmates --

          All that was left was entering the school. Yugi rolled onto his back, sighing loudly and staring at the sky.

          _This is gonna be so awkward..._ he thought to himself. _I'm not gonna know what's going on at all._

          "Yugi," a voice called into his room. His father pushed the door open, pulling a jacket on. "The school just called..." He stopped. "Yugi? You awake?"

          "No," Yugi called, pulling the blanket up over his head. "Now go away." Jonah smiled and shook his head. He walked across the room, stopping beside Yugi's bed. He reached out and grabbed the edge of Yugi's blanket, tugging it out of his hands.

          "You're not sick, are you?" he asked. Yugi, lying on his back, blinked, then hit himself in the head.

          "Sick! That would have been such a better idea..." Jonah sweat dropped and straightened up.

          "Well, apparently your not. Anyway, the school just called... They're giving you one hour's lee-way before you go into the school." Yugi sat up as his father was walking away, Jonah shoving his hands into his pockets.

          "Why?" Yugi asked. Jonah turned back to Yugi.

          "Some test they're conducting... I don't know, ask your mother. I'm on my way to the school

now," he said, grinning. "They want me to go there early to talk to the students."

          "Oh, God..." Yugi muttered, lying back down and pulling his blanket over him. "Why do I hafta go back, anyway? Can't I just stay here?"

          "You can't avoid them forever, Yugi," Jonah said, his voice turning serious. "Sooner or later you'll have to face them." And he left with that, shutting the door behind him. Yugi pulled the covers down and stood up, walking to the window. He looked out and saw people making their way to wherever they were going, some of them being students at the high school. Yugi moaned and leaned against the window.

          "Why me?" he said out loud to no one. Grumbling, he headed to his desk, placing his hands gently on the back of the chair. He reached out and pulled his shirt off, reaching for the crisp white one that went with his uniform.

          As he was slipping his arms into the jacket, he turned around to face a mirror, glancing up at himself.

          It was so strange... The navy blue uniform that had been discontinued only a year ago. Yugi turned his head to the side, trying to remember what the new ones had looked like. They were darker, right? And they had a more formal design... He remembered putting it on and looking at himself in the mirror with pride.

          Now he was just confused. He could see it in his mind... But it was fuzzy. Like a bad television screen.

          With a sigh, he headed downstairs, grimly walking into the kitchen. His mother was washing the counter around the sink, turning around when Yugi trudged in. She smiled, then it faded as she noticed his face. His eyes were downcast, and he sat down in a chair at the table, his head in his hands. Rachel scoffed.

          "Oh, Yugi, it's not _that bad,_" she said, sighing. "You're not marching to your death, you know."

          "I might as well be," he muttered, but his mother didn't hear. She propped herself up onto the counter, grabbing the newspaper and opening it. Yugi sat up a bit, wondering when his mother had taken up this habit of sitting on the counter.

          _She never did that before..._ he thought. Then he smiled. He remembered his grandfather telling him how perky his mother had been when his father was still alive. She would hop onto the counter and grab the newspaper, reading eagerly. After his death, she just took to taking the newspaper into another room. Yugi never knew why...

.

_-- Yugi's thoughts_

          Oh, God. I feel like I'm gonna die. I have this deep feeling of dread as I think about going into that building. I'm so nervous... Why do I have to go?

          The uniform is still the same as it was. Strange, I vaguely remember a new uniform... I was trying to remember it this morning. It didn't work. It's there, I know it is... I just can't recall it.

          Mom was reading the paper when the phone rang. Loudly. It was right in my ear. My stomach flip-flopped as she picked up the phone,  turning her head to the side and speaking softly.

          It turned out to be the doctor.

          "Oh, okay... Yes, yes, of course... No, he's fine..." She made small comments about my general health, but stating my little depressed 'stage', as she called it.

          "...I don't understand.... OHHHH.... I see..." she said, glancing at me. I noticed it out of the corner of my eye. She doesn't seem to get how nervous I frickin' am! Just thinking about that school makes me feel sick.

          Why did I have to survive, anyway? Why did I have to wake up to live this... nightmare? My dream was a lot better...

          _Ba__-bump._

          The photos.

          Every time I remember my dream, I think of the photos Anzu lost. I can't help but think... was that our salvation? Were those photos the only way we were going to get out of this hell? If they were...

          Dammit, Anzu!

          It wasn't until then that I realized she had hung up the phone.

          "That was the doctor," she said, smiling at me. It was a false smile. I nodded and slouched in my chair. I glanced at the clock.

          In forty minutes time, I would have to enter the doors of Domino High.

.

.

          My heart was beating so insanely, I wasn't sure if it had stopped completely. I stood, leaning against the wall of the school, waiting for my father to return. Mom was sitting on the ground beside me, tapping her fingers on the ground. She kept glancing at the door every two seconds.

          "Mom, it'll be okay, really," I assured her. She nodded absently, as if agreeing. I looked up at the clock perched above the door.

          It read nine o'clock.

          It was time.

          The front door opened; I heard footsteps going down the staircase to where we were waiting. I saw my dad as he came into my view, smiling a tired smile at us.

          "C'mon, Yugi," he said, motioning towards the door. "They're waiting." I gulped, grabbing my bag from beside my feet. I slung it over my shoulder and trudged behind Dad, staring at the floor.

          When we entered, I looked around the building, the empty hallways. Renovations had been made to this place, I was certain... or was that my dream? Yeah... Wait... No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Did it really happen?

          I looked for obvious differences.

          There were none.

          Guess it was my dream.

          As we walked, I could see through the translucent glass that covered the windows into the classrooms. It was difficult to make out anything besides blurs of color.

          I sighed. Mom walked beside me, also looking around at everything. We climbed two staircases, then hopped into an elevator for two more. On the fourth floor we exited, seeing a narrower hallway then the entrance. Outside each classroom was a class picture of the students inside.

          This was the senior hallway.

          It looked... darker then my dream. In my dream (I think), we painted the walls whitish for extra credit to improve the school's value. I remember seeing hte dark blues that made up the hue of colors... but this was strange, seeing it so dark.

          "Here we go..." Dad said, glancing down at a piece of paper in his hand. "Room D-14." Oh, that's right... The first floor was _A, _the second _B..._

          Dad knocked on the door. I saw a colored blob out of the corner of my eye next to the room number. A class photo.

          I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see it.

          My heart sped up. My hands grew cold. I could feel sweat sliding down my neck.

          God, if I'm _ever_ this nervous again... I glanced upwards. The door had opened. Would Miss Kokoronokinsen still be the teacher? Miss K?

          Or would there be someone I don't know?

          I glanced at the teacher. I sighed in relief.

          Long black hair... a colorful shirt... crazy earrings...

          It was Miss K.

          Thank God! Someone I know!!

          "...understand," she was saying to Dad. She grinned. "The students all know." She glanced in my direction. Then, she nodded to my father and stepped aside in the doorway. Dad did as well, ushering my over.

          "Ready?" he asked. I didn't respond. He gently pushed my back and into the room.

          "No," I muttered under my breath.

.

_--_

_._

          Nervously, Yugi entered the room. He wasn't quite sure what to expect; did he expect huge differences? Did he expect every_thing_ and every_one_ to have changed?

          He opened his eyes slowly. He blinked in surprise at how the room looked.

          It looked nearly exactly the same. He stared around, amazed at how much it hadn't changed. Then, he thought to himself, _Of course. The changes were made in my... dream..._

          He tried not to look at the people. He was too afraid of what he might see.

.

.

          Throughout the course of the day, Yugi was able to monitor his class from behind. He sat in the last seat, row closest to the window. His eyes drifted towards each and every person, trying to examine them inside and out. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. It really wasn't as bad as he had thought.

          After returning to the class, Miss K. gave him a brief run-over of where they were in the lesson, then explained that the class knew of some of the side-effects of his medicines, including drowsiness. Yugi gave a half-smile as he remembered Jonouchi's comment when he told him.

          _"You can fall asleep in class with an excuse!"_

_          Not really,_ Yugi thought to himself. _When I wake up, it's painful._ a

          After about twenty minutes of back glances, the class generally fell back into its usual stupor. Yugi recognized nearly everyone, but there was something noticeably different -- to him, anyway -- about each of them. He also couldn't keep his eyes off of the silver bands around Jonouchi's, Honda's and Otogi's right ankles. He knew it was a police monitor. He also knew that the hospital and police could be easily reached with just a button.

          Anzu kept giving angry glances to Jonouchi, Jonouchi stuck his tongue at her. Ryou kept glancing from one to the other, Honda seemed really attentive, and Otogi just looked bored. Like he wanted to get up and leave and go somewhere. He instinctively shoved his hand into his coat pocket, as did Jonouchi and Honda without thinking when they got into a little fight with someone. Yugi gulped.

          _...Don't fear if they have an 'instinctive reaction'... It's force of habit. They used to carry guns in those pockets. Now they can't..._ He remembered the doctors words.

          Didn't matter. He had _never_ seen Otogi, nor Honda look like that... It was obvious only Jonouchi had truly changed.

          ...Or had he even changed?

          Everyone in the room seemed oddly... Uptight. Yugi remembered his classes being very easy-going and enjoyable... What happened? Was it because there were three criminals in the room? Was it because of Yugi's strange return?

          The first half of the day with no one speaking a word to him, they had twenty minutes before their last class.

          He was mobbed.

          The entire class crowded around him, asking him questions. Yugi was shocked at the popularity he had gained.

          "What happened?"

          "How is it you're fine?"

          "Is it true they brought you back to life?"

          "Were you really in a coma?"

          "That Jonouchi..."

          "We heard you had some weird dream..."

          "Do you feel any different?"

          "How are you all caught up?"

          Yugi let the questions hit him and bounce off. He reeled back and just let everyone talk at once. He didn't mind the questions; many of them had the same answer. _I don't know._

"Quiet quiet QUIET!" Anzu shouted after about five minutes. The crowd fell silent. "One at a time, for God's sake!!" One person spoke his question.

          "Basically... How is it you're alive?" Yugi stared at him.

          "I have no idea," he said, tapping his fingers on the table before him. "I just... woke up one day. I didn't even know what happened. My father had to tell me what happened because I didn't remember." Everyone gasped.

          "How can you not remember?" a girl asked. "That's insane!"

          "I heard you had this weird dream and everything you knew was different when you woke up," the same kid asked. He leaned forward. "What's that?" Anzu's eyes widened. Yugi shot a nervous glance at her, then gulped.

          "Apparently... I had this really, umm, strange dream while I was asleep. It seemed so real... I don't know. It was a completely different life then the one I live now... The one we _all_ live now." The class blinked. Yugi nodded. "I'm serious. Nearly everyone was affected by it. It was _huge._"

          "Really?"

          "Can that be true?"

          "He's crazy!" Yugi sighed. He knew they would react that way.

.

.

_--Yugi's thoughts_

          The first day of school wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. As soon as I got home, I threw myself on my bed and took a nap. I was soo tired... Strange. I'm so tired during the day, yet I can't sleep at night.

          Anyway, after that, everyone sat down. No one thought about me again. I guess their curiosities were satisfied. I know mine sure as hell aren't. How can they just brush this off....?

          "It wasn't as bad as you thought, huh, Yugi?" Dad asked that night. I shrugged.

          "It was okay."

          "School is always okay." There was a pile of old cardboard boxes on the floor in the living room. I stared down at them.

          "...Dad...?" I asked, motioning to the boxes. "What's going on?" Dad sighed.

          "I keep finding things in boxes where they don't belong," he explained. He grinned. "Jiichan and Baachan weren't very good at sorting things..." I laughed. He opened a box and shifted through things. My mother was panging a key on the piano in the side of the room.

          "Jonah, I think this is out of tune," she said, sitting down. She began playing this very elegant song, and was humming the right note out loud with the wrong one. Dad looked over at her.

          "Is that _Beautiful Disaster?_"

          "Yep," she called back. She began playing a different song. This one I knew. It sounded so familiar...

          I saw it. In my mind.

          I remember coming home to see my mom sitting at the piano... Crying...

          "_Mom?__ Jiichan? I'm home," I called. I slammed the door. I was meeting Jonouchi in an hour... We were supposed to get down to __Kaiba__Land__ as soon as possible. Stupid, arrogant Kaiba was denying his role as the keeper of the Millennium Rod._

_          No one answered me back._

_          "H-hello?" I called. "Anyone home?" I crept into the back, searching for someone... I could hear our old piano playing from the living room. No one knew how to play in my family, did they?_

_          I opened the door slowly. There, sitting at the bench, was my mother. She was playing a slow song, singing the words softly to herself. I could see tears coming off her cheeks, her voice cracking as she sniffled._

_          "...I'm finding it hard to believe... We're in heaven..."_ _she sang to herself. My heart skipped a beat._

_          It was the fifteenth anniversary of my father's death. And that was their wedding song..._

          "...Blah..." Dad was saying when I snapped back to reality. "How the hell did that song go? I forget." Mom giggled, closing the lid to the keys.

          "You don't remember Heaven? Thanks a lot," she said playfully. She wandered over to the box he was in. "What the hell...?" she said, pointing. I grabbed my books. I was already a bit behind as it is... I _have_ to catch up. Dad sifted through the box.

          "I don't know," he admitted. "I found this a few days ago..." he picked something up and cupped it into his hands. I could heard a small jingle. I blinked. His hands jingled again.

          _Is that..._ I thought. I glanced over.

          In my Father's hands were a bunch of tiny, golden pieces in odd shapes, glinting in the the off-hand light. My eyes widened.

          _Oh my God!!_

It was... The... I stared at my hands. I put them too my head and shook it.

          Why couldn't I--

          "Yugi? Something wrong?" Dad asked, dropping the pieces into the box. Breathing hard, I didn't answer.

          Dammit! I thought.

          _I can't remember what that Item is called! The one with all the pieces!!_

**.............................................................**

Dun, dun duuun.... Yugi can't remember the Millennium Puzzle! Haha. Well, anyway...

Yeah... I frequently get writer's block with this fic, so updates will be kinda slow. Gomen nesai.

**Shibby****-One**


	7. Six

Dammnit! Yugi-kun can't remember the Sennen Puzzle!! O.O Not good... Well, now we'll just hafta see what's gonna happen, ne? Heh heh, this is so much funn...

**Oh, yeah, and Evanescence is not mine. **

**.............................................................**

**..**6**..**

.

.

Over the course of the next few days, Yugi couldn't concentrate on anything except the Item he couldn't remember.

At school, most people avoided him, since they thought him to be "crazy" or "deranged", but he didn't care. He would doodle in the margins of his notebooks, or on book covers or extra space on tests. Foggy half-images began haunting his mind and thoughts, golden glints or a far-off jingle of gold. It became his obsession to figure out what it was called.

He was sure that, if he couldn't remember, that would be it, the end.

Because he could hardly remember _anything_ at all.

A few days later, Yugi was lying on his back in his bed, getting used to the insomnia he seemed to get during the night. He stared at the dark ceiling, his thoughts on the Item. He turned onto his stomach and grabbed his History notebook from the table beside his bed. He opened it and placed it under a patch of moonlight that was shining down through the large windows above him.

On his notebook he had doodled half-shapes, things he was able to force from his memory. He had drawn what looked like some sort of geometric design; a pyramid that wasn't quite finished; an oval with a smaller circle inside that vaguely resembled an eye.

Yugi had been pleased when he fell asleep in school that morning; he had dreamt of the "dream" he had had. He had dreamed of solving this thing, placing pieces together... It was hazy, and kept flickering in and out, as if he were losing consciousness while putting it together...

He had woken up to a throbbing headache, and, since he hadn't fallen asleep in school since he started again, was sent to the nurse, then home.

Yugi rubbed his temple. The dull pain still hadn't gone away, even about two aspirins later. He sighed.

"God, I hope I can remember..." he whispered to himself. He lay his head down in his arms and closed his eyes. Was he going to be trapped here the entire time? Was _anyone_ going to remember _anything?_

With a resounding sigh, he rolled onto his back once more, trying to sleep. He was so tired... He could feel himself drifting off after about a minute... There was a dull sounds coming from downstairs...

.

_--Yugi's thoughts_

_._

Damn. I wish someone besides me remembered. God, am I tired... I'm just lying here, and I feel like I'm waiting for the world to come to an end. I hope the pictures I've drawn sort of resemble this thing... Whatever it is...

_These wounds won't seem to heal... This pain's just too real... There's just to much that time cannot erase..._

What the hell?

I sat up, blinking. I had almost been asleep as well. Someone was singing somewhere. But where? I know this song.

It was a strange sensation. The voice was hauntingly familiar, but I've never heard a voice quite like this one. Where was it coming from?

"Hello?" I called into the darkness. No, it was coming from downstairs. I hopped out of bed and tiptoed to the door, listening. I opened the door.

The sound increased.

_You still haaaaave... All of meeee..._

"Who are you?" I called, a little louder. I crept down the stairs and into the living room. Still, no one answered. I gulped.

_Your face it haunts... my once pleasant dreams... Your voice, it chased away... All the sanity in meeeee....._

The sound was coming... From everywhere. It seemed to surround me... Wait...

Is that... Could it be....?

It sounded kind of like... me?!

No, not me... This voice was mine, but different somehow... And it was coming from... those boxes... On the floor... I feel... so... sleepy.... Wait... that thing... It's... The.... Millennium Puzzle--

_Thwump__._

.

_--_

.

Anzu was just as anticipated. She was leaning out her bedroom window, nearly one a.m., her hair blowing. It was a faint sound of someone singing a very sad, haunting song... And it sounded kind of like... Yugi.

_You cried I'd, wipe away all of your tears... You'd scream I'd, fight away all of your fears... I held your hand through all of these years... You still have.... all of meeeee...._

"No, that's not Yugi..." Anzu whispered. She leaned out farther and listened closely. "Wait... Is it?"

_Maybe in a few years,_ she thought. _This voice, it sounds older, different..._

_I tried so hard to tell myself that your gone... But though you're still with meeee.... I've been aloooone..... All alooone..._

Anzu blinked. She knew this voice. She knew this voice so... well... Her arms shook. Her knees quivered. The streetlights flickered before her...

"Ya...mi..." she whispered before hitting the floor in a dead faint.

.

.

_You cried I'd, wipe away all of your tears... You'd cry I'd, fight away all of your feeeeears..._

Jonouchi listened closely. He was sitting upright, leaning against the wall. The song, it was pentrating the walls... hitting his ears... Jonouchi sighed and listened.

_I held your.... Hand through allll of these yeaaaaars.... You still haaaaave... all of meeeee...._ Jonouchi blinked. This voice... It was Yugi!

"Yugi? Singing?" he said to the silence. He sniggered. "I can't... imagine..." he trailed off. That voice wasn't Yugi.... He vaguely remembered who it belonged to. A figure... a strange, dark figure... No, wait, they _thought_ he was a 'dark figure'.... They _thought_ he was some strange person, some strange soul... No.... he wasn't...

_Allll__.... of meeee...._

"He.... Was...." Jonouchi's breathing became shortened. His breath came in gasps as he fell onto his side, laying on his arms. "...He was.... The.... Pharaoh...."

With that, he slumped over, unconscious.

.

.

They weren't the only ones in Domino to slump to the floor in a faint. They weren't the only ones in the city to hear this sad, haunting song come from a memory.... A voice coming from someone they hadn't heard in a long time...

The next morning, a group of students from class _D-14_ didn't show up for school. The reason; they're families had found them, on the floor, or sprawled on their beds, or laying on the windowsill, unconscious, almost in a deep sleep... They were still alive, but it was strange. These students supposedly had no connection... Then why were they found in this state the next morning?

Since Yugi was one of the ones found, the newspaper had an article. Jonah read it while sitting in his son's room at the hospital, Yugi asleep in the bed and Rachel watching him. He had been hooked up to a respirator. Another boy who had been found, the nameplate over his bed bearing the name "Bakura Ryou", was next to him on the other side of the room, also hooked up to a respirator.

"Hey, Rachel, listen," Jonah said, leaning forward, almost afraid to break the silence in the room. Rachel looked up at him.

" 'This morning, a group of high-school students with no connections to each other were found unconscious in their rooms by their families. They were found in strange places; on the floor, or sprawled on their beds, or laying on windowsills. A possible connection is trying to be found, but only some of the students are connected. They are all in the same state. The students are Domino High Seniors Moto Yugi, Jonouchi Katsuya, Mazaki Anzu, Honda Hiroto, Otogi Ryuji, and Bakura Ryou of class D-14.

'There is an obvious connection between Moto and Jonouchi, Honda and Otogi, from the case that has been on for nearly two years. However, the other two, Mazaki and Bakura, have no connection that's known between any of the others. It's being investigated right now.

'Another teen, who lives in Hokkaido, Tiatino Seto, who has no connection to these students, was also found in this unknown state. [1] It's still being determined where the connections lie, and what this could mean.' "

"Huh," Rachel said thoughtfully. "Interesting." She looked down at the silent Yugi, and gently slid her hand over his. She smiled down at his sleeping form.

"When he wakes up, they'll want to question them," a voice said from behind Rachel. Rachel turned to see the girl who had been beside Ryou's bed. She pushed her red hair back and smiled.

"Why, hello, Miss Bakura Amane," Jonah said, slightly surprised. "I suppose that's your brother?" Amane nodded and smiled.

"Yes. You remember me talking about him, don't you, Professor?" she asked. Jonah nodded.

"Yes, but that was years ago... Tell me," he said, leaning forward. "Where was your brother found?" Amane sighed.

"He was found half-way on the windowsill of our living room this morning by our father," she explained. "It's so strange, don't you think?" Jonah nodded.

"Yes, very strange..." Rachel turned around and closed her eyes, still holding Yugi's hand. At that moment, something very... strange happened.

Jonah glanced at the open door behind him, and then shifted back to facing Amane. He gave her a half-smile, nodded, and looked down at Yugi.

"So, you could hear it, too?" Amane asked in a small voice. Jonah nodded again. "He worked very hard for this... For... Us to come back..." She turned, and then looked back for a moment.

Then, she gave a thumbs-up to Jonah, and retreated back to Ryou's bed.

"Amane," Jonah called out suddenly. Amane turned. Jonah grinned.

"Remind me to thank... _him_ later," he said. "What's his name?" Amane sighed, and then faltered.

"You know, we won't remember this conversation in about five seconds. Our time is running out."

"Yes, I know... But, tell me... What was his name again?" Amane scoffed.

"Atem, you idiot. Pharaoh Atem. The one in the Puzzle? Oh, my God... Your memory, I swear..."

With that, two seconds later, both forgot what had just happened.

**.............................................................**

**[1] Tiatino Seto:** This is indeed Kaiba Seto. You see, I wrote a fic a looooong time ago about his biological parents, and I made up the name "Tiatino" as his original last name. In the fic, the Items were the reason for him having no parents. That's why, without the Items, he's still with his biological family. Confusing, ne?****

O.O They know. Holy shit they know!! Am I confusing you? nn Goodie! Heh heh, this is fun to write, really fun. So, they remember... Or was it just the fact that Atem, _inside the Puzzle_, was singing to them? Heh, maybe so...

Oh, and, also, Takahashi Kazuki, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s creator, did an interview with _Shonen__ Jump_ and revealed the whereabouts of Yugi's father. (I get Shonen Jump) And, if you haven't already heard, apparently, Yugi's father is "living away from his family because of business, and it will remain this way for awhile." Then he starts talking about Yami's father. So, he is **not** dead!! Amazing, isn't it? =3

**Shibby****-One**__


	8. Seven

**Gomen**** nesai gomen nesaii!!** I've been so wrapped up in other things all summer, I completely had a brain lapse about this fic! Please, forgive meeee!! TT I hope this story will begin making sense very soon n.n But, I've hit a stride, so updates should be more frequent!

**

* * *

**

**..7..**

It became a fixation.

Yugi _had_ to finish it. He knew it was a Puzzle, but how it was put together… he had no idea. He also recognized slightly the boy in the bed next to his, Bakura Ryou. He knew that, somehow, he played an important role in his "dream". What that role was, he was also unsure.

Ryou was sitting cross-legged on the edge of Yugi's bed, pieces to the Puzzle cupped in his hands. Yugi was frowning at the pieces, frustrated that he couldn't get it.

"I know… that maybe putting this thing together, I can figure out what this is all about," Yugi said, Ryou shrugging. Yugi sighed and stared down at the piece shaped like an Eye, his hands closing around it.

"So… you said that I was, umm, in your dream…" Ryou started, trailing off. Yugi glanced up and nodded. He tightened his fist around the eye piece more. For some reason… holding it… gave him warmth…

"I don't really know how important you were," Yugi said, wriggling his fingers, "but I know that you were. Somehow." Ryou lowered his head.

"Do you know… anything about me that I could know?" he asked slowly. Yugi nodded.

"You were… quiet."

"Quiet?"

"Yes." Silence ensued as Yugi continued to fiddle with the pieces. It didn't matter how much he fiddled with them, he couldn't figure out how they fit together.

"Are you sure these pieces go together?" Ryou asked timidly. Yugi nodded and sighed, dropping the pieces.

"I… I know I can do it," he said softly after a time. Ryou watched Yugi's face for any change in expression, but Yugi just stared blankly at the pieces, then leaned back and glanced out the window. Ryou picked up a piece and stared at it. For some reason, this piece kept jumping out at him, even though it resembled every other piece in the pile.

"This must be a corner piece," Ryou said, trying to break the slump. Yugi said nothing, just stared out the window. Ryou dropped the piece down again and glanced at Yugi. "Yugi…"

"Yeah?"

"Who… who was, umm, singing the other night?" Yugi glanced at Ryou, then stared at his hands.

"…I have no idea, Ryou. That voice… it was so familiar…"

"Yeah, it was," Ryou agreed, folding his legs tighter. "I wonder who it was…"

"I thought it was you," Ryou admitted. "That's all I can remember. I remember my thoughts… I thought that it was _you_ singing—" Ryou stopped talking as his expression grew wide.

"Ryou?" Yugi asked. Ryou was shaking his head

"No… I didn't think it was you… I thought… I knew… it was…"

* * *

_--Yugi's thoughts_

Mou hitori no Yugi? What the hell? That's what Ryou had told me before the nurse had ushered him away for a checkup.

Another Yugi? I mean, they're probably people out there besides me named 'Yugi', but the way Ryou said it… Almost like he _was_ talking to me, but not exactly… It was strange.

I was all alone in the room now, that one phrase trapped in my mind. _Mou__ hitori no Yugi._ Who is this 'other Yugi', exactly? What's going on!?

I was able to visit Jonouchi today. That took my mind off things. But Jonouchi seemed very distant, mumbling something under his breath.

"Jonouchi? What is it, what's wrong?" I asked. Jonouchi glanced at me, and then bit his lower lip.

"It's… hard," Jonouchi muttered. "There's this… word… I've been hearing, in my head lately… I can' figure out what it means, this word."

"What word is it?" I asked. Jonouchi sighed.

" 'Pharaoh'… Y'know, an ancient Egyptian king… It's… driving me insane… But… I think it has to do with your dream."

"You think so?" Jonouchi nodded.

"I know so, Yugi. It's… there. But it's not just a word, it's a person, too. There's someone from your dream haunting us all, Yugi, because your dream has to have been _real._ It _had_ to have been real. There's no other explanation for this." I stared at him. He seemed so _sure_ of himself…

Jonouchi sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. He was tired for some reason.

"If only Anzu hadn't lost those photos…" Jonouchi whispered. "If… only the Puzzle hadn't broken…"

What the—

Both Jonouchi and I stared at each other, Jonouchi blinking in confusion.

What the hell is going on?!

Is everyone gaining some memory of my 'dream'? Did it really happen, then?

"What about the Puzzle, Jonouchi? Tell me!" I cried, grabbing his arms. Jonouchi breathed deeply and bit his lower lip.

"I… I don't know where that came from… But OH MY GOD!!" Jonouchi screamed suddenly, leaning back and breathing quickly. I blinked.

"Jou? Something—"

"You're bleeding! Look!!" Jonouchi sad, pointing at my side. I looked down and, sure enough, my right side was a deep red, bleeding through my pajamas. The strange thing was… I didn't feel any pain.

"I'm calling the doctor!!" Jonouchi said, grabbing the phone beside his bed. I blinked.

"Jou… I don't feel any pain," I told him in a soft voice. Jounouchi stared at me, frowning.

"That can't be—YUGI!" But I didn't hear his last words. All I felt was the soft bed beneath my body and nothing else.

* * *

"He just stared bleeding," Jonouchi was telling the doctor. The doctor glanced down at Yugi, sighing. Yugi was lying in a bed in a different part of the hospital, with thick bandages around his waist. Although, the bleeding wouldn't stop... "And then he fainted." A nurse was positioning a breathing mask over Yugi's face. He was having trouble breathing.

"Call his parents," the doctor said to the nurse, and then turned back to Jonouchi. "Jonouchi, I – What the…" Jonouchi was staring down at Yugi, a contemplative look on his face. He was staring at a spot near Yugi's head on his bed, where someone could sit and watch him. Jonouchi's eyes widened, and he backed up, holding his head.

"W-what was th-that?" he whispered. "Oh… Oh my God…"

"Jonouchi! What is it?" the doctor asked. Jonouchi shook his head and breathed deeply.

"I thought…. I thought I saw… someone… sitting… right there," Jonouchi said, pointing to the spot he was staring at. He blinked a few times and sighed. He turned and ran down the hallway, getting yelled at in the process.

The doctor stared behind him, and then looked down at Yugi. Yugi was lying there, very peacefully, sleeping. The doctor sighed.

"This whole thing is one giant mess…"

* * *

"We're getting close," Anzu whispered, sliding pieces into place. Honda bit his lower lip.

"Are you sure we can do this, Anzu?" he whispered. "We've never solved this thing before."

"We're gonna have to," Anzu whispered back. It was the daed of night, and Anzu and Honda were sitting on Honda's bed, trying to piece the Puzzle together.

"This is stupid," Honda said, frowning. "Anzu, what makes you think we can suddenly _solve the Puzzle?!_ It took Yugi eight _years_ to do it—"

"It only took him a few minutes the second time," Anzu said in a defiant voice. "Now shut up and _help me._" Honda sighed and picked up another piece. He tossed it into the air and caught it again.

"This is the piece Yami no Bakura stuck himself in," he said slowly. "I wonder if he's still in there…"

"Honda! Focus!!" Anzu hissed. "We're the only ones who've gained our full memory back, we gotta get most of this thing done—"

"Alright, alright, calm down," Honda said, fiddling with the pieces. "Oh, Anzu, this is hopeless…" Anzu slid another piece down, gave the half-finished item and half-turn, and smiled as another fit into place. Honda stared in amazement.

"_Now_ will you help?"

**

* * *

**

Woo! So, Honda and Anzu remember… And everyone else is starting to remember. If you don't get the bleeding thing, it's because in the first chap when Yugi fell from the wall, his side starting bleeding and he was unconscious. Get it? I knew you did n.n

**Again, I am so sorry!!! T.T**

**Shibby****-One :D**


	9. Eight

Pssh. Quick updates MY ASS. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update… to many things going on for meh to concentrate u.u But I really, really wanna finish this story, so… Yeah. Here we go…

**

* * *

**

**..8..**

"Nothing will ever be the same again," Jonah concluded as he pulled open the hospital door. He bounded inside, nearly running to the front desk. His wife wasn't there yet.

"Excuse me, but I was called here because of my son?" he said, not bothering to mention names. He'd been there for many hours before at a time, the admitting nurse knew who he was.

"Yes, Yugi… he started bleeding with no explanation," the nurse said, glancing into the face of the man. Jonah sighed and placed his hand on his forehead. He sighed.

"Oh, Lord… How serious?" he asked, his voice sounding tired. The nurse shrugged.

"I'm not quite sure… All I know is, he had serious bleeding in his side and it needed medical attention immediately. And he fainted. And his friend is acting awfully strange…" The nurse glanced around. "This place has become a nuthouse because of this…"

"More things to worry about…" Jonah muttered as he received directions to where his son was. Jonah hurried down the hallway, glancing around for signs of strange activity.

When he reached Yugi's room, he stepped into the room, glancing around.

No one was in here.

_Odd,_ Jonah thought. _Isn't someone supposed to be in here with him?_ Jonah glanced down at Yugi.

Yugi was sound asleep, lying peacefully on his bed. An air mask was over his mouth and nose, and there was an IV tube running into his wrist. A thick bandage had been wrapped around his waist, the side of it stained a dark crimson.

Jonah listened to the EKG beep solitarily in the corner of the room. He sat down next to the bed, placing his arms on it and leaning forwards. He sat and watched his son in silence. After awhile, Jonah began to notice something strange about Yugi.

His face kept changing. His eyes were scrunched up, his mouth pinched, his arms shaking.

What was wrong?

"Yugi?" Jonah asked, leaning over him. Was it another strange, vivid dream? Was he falling back into his stupor?

Jonah had no idea what to do. He just leaned over Yugi and kept a watchful eye while praying that someone would come to the room soon. This couldn't be good for Yugi's health.

"Yugi…" Jonah whispered. "Don't leave us again."

**

* * *

**

"I'm _not_ crazy! I know what the fuck I saw! Why won't you listen to me?!" Jonouchi persisted. He groaned and bit his lower lip, struggling against the hold the policeman had on him. The cuffs bore into his thin wrists, cutting his flesh.

"You weren't even supposed to be in the same _room_ without permission, Jonouchi," the officer standing before him said. Jonouchi glared at the woman with one eye, since he wasn't able to open the other with all the pain he was enduring.

_Damn,_ he thought. _Those memories… Those words… Why won't they help me now?_

"You were the last one in the room with him. Ichimei was right in calling us. You're coming with us where you _belong._"

"I knew there was something wrong with this kid from the start," the officer holding Jonouchi down grumbled. "He put the kid in a damn coma, and the poor kid nearly lost his sanity in the process! The human mind is a fragile thing, young man, something you could easily destroy!"

"I – didn't – do – anything!" Jonouchi stuttered, his arms shaking. He could feel his wrists bleeding. But still… he had been the only one there. Why did Yugi start bleeding? Why couldn't he feel pain? Who was that person he always saw, flickering in and out…

Was he going crazy?

Jonouchi tried to move, but the stronger officer held his ground. He kneed Jonouchi in the back.

This caused Jonouchi to fall to his knees on the floor.

"Owww… shit," he whispered, coughing.

"Call Mori while you're at it. He's probably on drugs or something; he should be tested," the woman officer told an officer near to her. Jonouchi didn't respond. He could barely hear them anymore. All he could think about was what he saw.

_Someone was sitting on that bed next to Yugi. I saw him. He was as solid and as living as I am. Who was he? Why was he so familiar…_

_Oh… Oh my God!_

_I was seeing _Yugi!

The stronger officer lifted Jonouchi up onto his feet. Jonouchi was panting, his lip bleeding. Handcuffs pinning his arms painfully around his back. The red-and-blue lights from the police car were flashing in his face.

_Yugi.__ That was Yugi. Yugi. I saw Yugi…_These thoughts were turned over and over in his mind as the officer shoved him into the car.

He was being taken to jail.

_Only God knows the truth now, _Jonouchi thought sullenly as he questioned himself. _Only God knows the truth._

**

* * *

**

"Jesus, Anzu, stop being sucha pushy—"

Anzu slapped her hand over his mouth. A group of people had passed the dark room they were in. The door didn't close all the way, and if they were caught, they would be in huge trouble.

"Shhh!" Anzu said, frowning at Honda. She peeked around the door, securing her bag over her shoulder. She opened the door slowly as she saw no one coming.

"Good. No one's around. We can go now," she hissed. Honda frowned.

"People are gonna wonder why we're here during the day."

"They don't know we're students," Anzu said, rolling her eyes.

"Take a look at yourself, Anzu," Honda said, sighing. Anzu glanced down.

They were wearing their school uniforms. Anzu scoffed.

She slid the pink jacket off her shoulder and shoved it into her bag. After that, she untied the ribbon around her neck and also placed that in the bag. She flattened herself against the wall and motioned to Honda to do the same.

"We're less noticeable this way," she whispered. Honda sighed and copied her motions.

"So, where we going?" Honda asked. Anzu checked her watch, then glanced outside.

"We're going to give Seto Kaiba a visit."

"But he's not Kaiba here; our pasts are completely re-arranged," Honda hissed. Anzu rolled her eyes.

"I know that… but that doesn't mean he doesn't _look_ the same," Anzu said, smiling devilishly. "We all still look the same, Honda. We're bound to recognize him…" Honda thought about that for a moment.

"I suppose so… Why are we looking for Kaiba?" he inquired as the two crept into the depths of the hospital. Anzu shrugged.

"To see if he remembers anything," she whispered back. She glanced at her bag. "The more contact with this Item you have, the more memory you regain."

"Once Yugi forgets everything, so will we," Honda said to himself. "But if Kaiba has been in Hokkaido this entire time, he wouldn't have even _seen_ the Puzzle, let alone been around it long enough to be affected."

"I think there might be other Items affecting him," Anzu countered. "Remember that the nurse said? All of the people admitted because of Yugi's case are acting strange. Kaiba's – well, I guess his last name is still Tiatino – has been having strange dreams for a while now. Strange dreams that include _Yugi,_ Honda."

"Strange dreams of memory," Honda said, smiling as Kaiba's room appeared around the corner.

**

* * *

**

_--Yugi's thoughts_

It was almost like watching a movie. The last thing I remember is fainting in Jonouchi's room… Next thing I know, I'm standing in the hallway. Outside my own room.

_With me still inside._

I've learned not to question things I see. I figure, by now, I've gone insane anyway…

But… everything I see… is horrible. It's almost like… I'm watching a bunch of little television screens, each one centered to a different person.

Jonouchi was taken away by the police.

Anzu and Honda are creeping around the hospital illegally.

My dad is panicking over my mental state.

When did my life get so complex?

Oh, I know; the day I was _born._

Dear God.

Whatever state I was in… Every single time I saw one of my friends get hurt, orfeel scared or helpless, so did I. This empty feeling is growing inside of me… It seems that Anzu and Honda have somehow remembered something of that dream… But remembered what? I barely remember anything at all. Why do they remember? Why does Jonouchi notice things I'm supposed to? Why are Anzu and Honda saying names I'm supposed to know but _don't_?

Why is everyone remembering except me?

I saw that Anzu and Honda have started completing the Puzzle. But no. That won't do.

Either I or he has to complete it.

Either I or he.

**

* * *

**

_Meh__, kinda short.__ n.n;; Sorry 'bout that… I was on a roll with this, wrote it in about forty five minutes. ::feels proud:: Anywho…Well, things are getting… odd. Heh. Don't worry, soon Yugi will actually get his hands on the Puzzle before everything gets outta control. And I assure you, things do get out of control. _

**Shibby-One**


	10. Nine

Wow… only a few more months and this fic will have been up for a year. That's pretty good, I guess… Hmm… maybe not. Well, moving on… I just re-read the eighth chap, it's looking pretty… violent. And hopeless. For Yugi, at least. Why is everyone else remembering, but Yugi isn't? Hmm. I don't know.

**Next month on January 14th, 2005, it will have been officially one year since I posted this fanfiction. Cool and pathetic all in itself. And I'm only at chapter nine… I wrote and posed _Dance the Forbidden Dance_ and half of _Light the Flame_ in that time. Heh.**

**

* * *

**

**..9..**

_--Yugi's thoughts_

These words in my mind… they weren't _my_ words. They repeated themselves over and over, like a mantra, saying _Either__ I or he. Either I or he._ This strange out-of-body experience seemed to be affecting me somehow. Now my thoughts are becoming separate from myself? What does that mean?

I peered into the room. Yep, I was still in there. Sleeping. Or something. Was I unconscious? Was I… What was I, exactly?

What am _I?_ What am I to curse and confuse? Is that why I was saved? To throw everyone into a downwards spiral?

But no. I can't think such things right now. I hafta do… something. I hafta justify myself. I hafta _find that Puzzle._

So I took off down the hallway. The further I got from my body, the farther and farther and farther I got from life.

**

* * *

**

"We have to do this before someone comes into the room," Anzu hissed. She was the obvious brains of the operation. Honda just rolled his eyes and held the Puzzle to his chest. It was still barely half-done.

Anzu pushed the door open.

It was empty.

"Damnit! I thought this was the right room!" Anzu cried out in frustration. Honda looked at the nameplate fastened to the wall.

_Tiatino__, Seto_

"Yeah, this is the right room, Anzu," Honda said as Anzu fumed. "Maybe he's somewhere else in the hospital, like, I dunno… get checked or something?" Anzu frowned, then spun around.

"Maybe. If we wait here, we'll get caught, so—"

"Uhh… Can I help you?" came a voice from behind them. Anzu looked up and Honda spun around.

Standing in the doorway was a very confused, very different, Seto Kaiba.

"Uhm…" Honda said, but Anzu jumped right in.

"Are you Seto Tiatino?"

"…Yes…" Seto said, raising an eyebrow. He was dressed in street clothes; apparently he was being released. He _did_ look different; not only was he wearing normal street clothes, his hair was longer and pulled back. He had two piercings in one ear, and what looked like some sort of scar on the side of his face.

Aside from that, he looked the same. And sounded the same.

"We're here to talk to you," Anzu said, smiling. Honda rolled his eyes. She walked over and closed the door behind Seto. Even though his past was different, he still towered over her, at six-foot-one.

"About… what?" He asked suspiciously. He sat down in a chair that was behind him. Anzu sat on the edge of his bed.

"First off, you live in Hokkaido, and us too – we live in Domino."

"Domino? Where's that?" Seto asked.

"About forty minutes from here. Okay, and – do you recognize _either_ of us?" Seto blinked at her in confusion.

"Whaaaaaat?" he asked. "I've never even _seen_ you two before – and why am I even here? I'm leaving—" He said, standing up. Anzu ran over and stood in front of the door.

"Hell no, you're not going _anywhere,_" she growled. Seto crossed his arms in front of him.

"My father's gonna be here in a few minutes – I can _make_ you move. I have the justice system on my side."

_What does he mean? Is his father a lawyer or something?_ She thought. Even if this was some kind of alternate reality, he was still extremely intelligent.

"Just answer the question! Please –"

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about—"he said, grabbing her wrist to push her aside. Anzu dug her feet into the floor, not moving anywhere. Honda stood and ran over to the doorway. Seto twister her wrist in an attempt to get her to move, while Anzu cried out in pain.

"Anzu, just—"

"No! I'm not letting Seto Kaiba go _now!"_ she cried. Then she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Seto let her go and stood back.

"Wh-what did you just call me?!" he asked. He had a look of confusion and… hope?

"S-Seto Kaiba," she muttered, breathing hard. She rubbed her wrist. Seto stared at her for a moment, then said

"Why… did you call me that?" he asked. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I-it just came out of my m-mouth," she stammered, gulping. Seto glanced around, then locked the door.

"You're not the first ones to say that," he said while doing so. He turned around.

"I'm going to tell you about these… dreams I had," he said, turning around.

"Why?" Honda asked.

"Because… The same person, with the same voice, said that same name in my head," he said, striding back towards Anzu and Honda.

**

* * *

**

Jonouchi had one hope left. As he sat in the jail cell, police calling police. He pulled his knees up to his chest and just watched people running around. They were calling governmental officials, more police, politicians…

Jonouchi was going to trial.

"Oh, dear God…" he whispered, shaking. "Why is this happening? I thought this was over with!" He sat up and stared at his hands. If it wasn't for his driving anger… If only… if only…

"I'm so sorry... Whoever you are…" he whispered. "You. That man. You were Yugi. But different…" Jonouchi shivered violently. He stared up at the ceiling. The man who was hovering over Yugi…

"I think… I saw that in a museum, once. That man." He shrugged it off. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't; all he knew, he was going crazy.

Why couldn't it be so much _better?_ Why couldn't it be… the way Yugi described? Maybe his dream was a way his mind sheltered him from what was really happening.

_But then…why did he remember things from this 'dream'? And what about those photos Anzu had? And the Puzzle? And the dreams and spurts of memory and pains…_

Maybe the memories were coming back via different mediums. Maybe, he was feeling the emotions, the torments of that dream…

Jonouchi held his head in his hands. His shoulders shook. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

"No, it can't be…" he whispered, his arms shaking. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was on the hard, cold, stone floor of the cell, staring blankly at a wall.

"It's real."

**

* * *

**

Ryou clicked the light on, the brightness flooding the dark room. If Ryou hadn't been such a promising student in the field of archaeology, the curator of the museum wouldn't have allowed him to go down into the depths of the Domino Museum.

It was a rather large, open room, with various boxes, charts, and maps strewn about. Doors and makeshift walls blocked the artifacts yet to be placed together or restored…. Or just to be placed into the museum exhibits.

"Ryou, if you do anything to any of these artifacts…" Amane warned, "Dad'll have you're ass."

"I know," Ryou said, tugging his wrist from Amane's grasp. "I understand."

"We wouldn't be able to afford to fix these things. And father would lose his job, and –"

"_Calm down,_ Amane. I know what I'm looking for." He swung the keys around his wrist, searching for the door. Or wall. Or box.

Something with the marks _2-E, '96 DKBCEA_.

"You're positive that… thing is down here?" Amane asked. Ryou gave an exasperated sigh.

"_Yes._ The number and letter '2-E' is a common marking symbol for things stored down here – it means that it's artifacts from the Middle East. Or more specifically – Egypt. This museum is the only one in the country that uses that code – what ever this paper was attached to _has to be in here._" Ryou held the fragment up to the dim lights. The packaging code was faded and messy, as if someone wrote it quickly and had it stored for a number of years.

The paper had fallen out of a pocket in a jacket hanging in the closet in his house. He had been shifting through when he came across something he'd never seen before – a black, leather jacket, nearly the size of a trench coat. It was so long it could reach his ankles. He didn't understand where it came from, but in the pocket, was a scrap taken from a packaging code for artifacts stored in the basement of this very museum.

"I still don't trust this," Amane muttered, stepping lightly through the hallway of makeshift walls. "I mean, where'd that thing _come_ from?"

" 'Dunno," Ryou muttered, glancing up for the code. The pair walked along the hallway, the number-letter combination '2-E' never grazing their eyes.

"Ryou, whatever it is… It isn't here," Amane said, stopping in her tracks. "There are only so many places we have keys to, and if it's buried somewhere—"

"Amane! I found it!" Ryou cried triumphantly. He stopped at a door that was nearly hidden behind huge crates. The door was covered in a thick layer of dust, the doorknob rusty. Whatever was in here hadn't been touched in years.

"Why are we doing this again?" Amane asked in a squeaky voice.

"This may help Yugi – and me – to see if this nonsense is real," Ryou said. He was searching for the right key to unlock the door. "The story Yugi told me was incredible – but there's only one way to prove his dream true."

"And, that is…?"

Ryou found the key and shoved it in the lock.

"It has a lot of Egypt base to it. If there are artifacts to back him up…" He trailed off.

"How can you be so sure?" Amane asked, narrowing her eyes. The lock clicked. Ryou pushed open the door.

"Because," he said simply, stepping into the musty room. Amane followed. It was extremely dark and dank, and musty. Amane jumped a little at the amount of dust that had settled all over the floor.

"Oh—My God," she muttered as Ryou flipped the lights on. "Look at that." Ryou looked up, and, completely startled silent, fell backwards.

The room was filled to the brink. On one wall was about four or five thick glass cases, almost like they were shoved onto the wall, holding thick slabs or rock or tapestry. On another wall was a huge metal shelf, filled with video cassettes. Boxes littered the floor, some marked with letters that made no sense to either person: **DK****, BC****, EA, **and **YGO.**

"What the…" Ryou whispered, still on the floor. Amane walked forwards. There were books piled inside of a near box. There was an old television on a lower shelf of a bookcase with manila folders strewn around it. Amane picked one up.

"Ryou – this has Yugi's name on it," she said, staring at it. She placed it down again. Ryou stood up, staring at the slabs in the cases.

"Amane, look at this – these are ancient, ancient stones from Egypt," he exclaimed. "Look at it – I wonder what it could be?"

"What the hell is _this?_" Amane asked. She pointed to one slab that seemed to have the bottom broken off. It was covered in little rectangles with different pictures inside. The sign of Ra was at the top with more strange carvings all along and down it. "What the fuck?!" Ryou walked around the room, scanning all the old cassettes. He frowned in frustration at the labels. He picked one up in surprise when he saw his own name mentioned.

"What the… Amane, look at this," he said, showing her the cassette. She blew the dust off the label and gasped in surprise.

"_Bakura vs. Yuugi, Round One_ – What the fuck _is_ all this?!" she cried out in frustration. Ryou walked over to the old television and glanced at the manila folders. Each one had a name and a bunch of information inside. Ryou crouched down on his heels and glanced over the names.

"Everyones here – Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi – all of us," he muttered. He turned to Amane and stood straight.

"What does this _mean?_" Amane asked, her eyes full of horror. Ryou took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I…. I don't…. I don't know," he confessed. "But I think this… This just might prove Yugi to be telling the truth." Amane shook her head.

"No – _this_ proves that the Egyptians were nuts."

"Maybe that too, then," Ryou said, smiling sheepishly. "Wow, I… I can't believe it." Amane backed up. She turned to leave, but instead tripped over a stray box.

In an attempt to keep from falling, she grabbed onto a metal shelf near her, and instead of staying up, just pulled the books down with her that was on the shelf.

"Aaaaaaaieeeeeee!" she cried, landing in the dust. She coughed and rolled onto her back, sitting up and coughing into her hands. Ryou knelt down to lift the books back onto the shelf.

"Nice one, Amane," he said, grinning. Amane just coughed some more. She glanced at the nearest book to her, because it didn't _look_ like a book.

It looked like a scrapbook.

"Hey…" she said, picking it up. She held it in her hands and admired it, turning her head to the side.

"What is it?" Ryou asked, kneeling on the floor next to her. She shrugged and opened it.

And, instantly, a flood of colored photos fell into her lap, shrieking her into surprise.

**

* * *

**

"There is no way in hell this could happen again," Rachel muttered to herself. Jonah placed his arms around her waist and held her tight, shaking. He could feel her shivering body as she leaned against him.

"Listen, Rachel, please… It's alright. I'm begging you…" he whispered softly. The two waited for news of their son. Because, for the second time, he might have been lost in a world of deep sleep.

"Mr. and Mrs. Muto," Come said, entering the room. "We've checked over your son; he isn't in a coma-like state quite yet, but if his condition doesn't change… I'm afraid we've lost him a second time." Jonah tightened his grip on his wife. It was for her security; it was for his own. He was shaken. He thought that, finally, their lives would go back to semi-normal. But everything was happening all over again – and they don't even know how it happened.

Rachel slid from his grasp and sat steadily on the plastic chairs that surrounded them in the lobby. She rubbed her temples and covered her face. Jonah just looked down helplessly. Come closed her eyes and turned to leave.

"Come – wait," Jonah said, stepping forwards. "Please… can we see him?" Rachel looked up momentarily, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Come looked from Jonah to Rachel, and then back to Jonah.

"You can't go in the room," Come warned, "But there is a window you can see into, if you like." Jonah glanced at Rachel, then continued forward. Rachel followed closely behind. They followed Come down a hall and through a set of doors, finally reaching a long hallway with glass windows. Come stopped at one window and peered inside. Jonah and Rachel followed.

Inside the white room was Yugi, lying in a white bed, his eyes closed. He looked extremely pale and thin, almost deathly. He had a breathing mask over his face, and his wound still seemed to be bleeding. Rachel pressed her hands against the glass, to horrified to look but too amazed to look away. Her quick breaths fogged the glass as she slid to the floor, her hand trailing after her, leaning her head against the hard wall. The warm tears flowed down her cheeks.

Jonah stared down at her, and then looked up at his son. His son wasn't his son any longer.

* * *


	11. Ten

Hah. It's past the one-year marking point. I remember first writing the first chapter, right after Christmas of 2003. That seems so long ago… Wow. Chapter ten. That has to be some kind of marking point… This is the second-to-last chapter, everyone.

**

* * *

**

**...10…**

Yugi's life had long ago been let loose, out of the hands of man. His breathing slow, his eyes closed, he didn't notice the bustle and chaos around him. It was quiet in his world. A world he wanted so badly to be a part of again.

What was going on? Nothing made sense. Just the fact that all this was happening was his fault. He should have never opened his mouth. But still…

There was still a tension among everyone. Everyone claimed Yugi was crazy, or worse; that all he had was a dream. But now, even doubters were beginning to wonder…

What were they hearing? What were they seeing? If it was all a dream… Then where did these things come from? How did this happen?

Was it even real?

Jonah touched the glass. He shook his head and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the glass.

"No more," he whispered. Rachel sighed and leaned against him.

"I know, Jonah," she whispered. "I don't want any more of this either."

"…No," Jonah replied, opening his eyes. "Not that. Something else. No more. I don't want to play this _game_ anymore, damnit!" he cried, stepping back. Rachel jumped backwards and away from Jonah.

What could he mean?

Jonah looked at Yugi through the glass.

_No more,_ he thought. _This isn't what I asked for. It wasn't supposed to be this way. If the spell hadn't been so weak…if… It's not worth it._

_Yugi would die in both lives if I don't do something about it._ Jonah let numerous thoughts run through his mind as he marched towards the door. People and passer-bys stared at him as he marched through, pushing people aside. Some doctors protested and threatened to get him thrown out.

"I'm leaving anyway!" he shouted at them. He pushed the door open briskly, and walked into a cold winter wind. He stopped, the wind pushing at him. But as the wind continued, he didn't care. He marched forwards, breathing hard, his coat swishing and blowing about.

"Hey! You!" he cried to no one in the wind. "You did this! Why? I never meant for it to be this way!" But it seemed as if he was yelling to no one. "All I wanted to know was – what would my life be like. I didn't want you to make it real! He's going to die because of this! Please – make it stop!" The wind howled, causing him to clutch his body to keep warm. He opened one eye to see if his plea had gotten a response.

But there was no response. From Heaven or Hell.

**

* * *

**

Amane was kneeling on the floor, staring at the colored, faded photographs on the floor. Dust that had been lifted into the air from her fall was re-settling, dulling the colors. Ryou gulped.

"What… what is this?" he whispered. Amane carefully placed the photo album on the floor. Ryou picked up some of the photos and looked at them, brushing dust from their glossy surface.

Slowly, faces began to appear. People. Instances frozen in a block of time. Ryou stared at the photo he held in his hand.

Yugi was in the photo. He was sitting in a desk at the high school. Ryou saw himself standing before the desk. It was taken from the side. It seems as if the photo had caught the two by surprise during school hours.

"What the…" Ryou muttered. He placed that one down and picked up another. This one was even stranger.

It featured Jonouchi and Yugi, the two all smiles and posing in a funny way. But…

What were those… _machines_ on their arms! As Ryou looked through photo after photo, snapshot after snapshot, he began to grow more confused. When was this? Where were they? Who is this? More questions flew through his mind.

Amane jus shook her head, a confused look crossing her eyes.

"Ryou… what the hell _is_ this?" she asked, glancing up. Ryou's eyes widened as he shook his head.

"I don't know! I have no idea! Amane – I've never seen this before _in my life!_"

Amane stared at him in disbelief.

"Ryou, I hate to break it to you, but _you're in these_—" She stopped dead. She held up a photo, almost staring through it. She just stared at it, both hands on either side. Her face scrunched into confusion. She looked from Ryou to the photo, then back at Ryou. Ryou knelt down on the floor beside her.

"Amane, what…" he trailed off and his eyes widened. Before them was a framed photo. It was a group photo; a happy group photo. Taken right outside of Domino High, as a matter of fact.

Amane stared at it. Ryou was in it. Yugi was in it. So were Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi, Otogi, and a number of other people whom they didn't recognize. Ryou placed a hand on it.

"What… what is it?" he asked slowly. Amane shook her head.

"I have no idea," she whispered. She then placed a finger on the small figure of Yugi. "But… isn't that the gold thing?"

"Gold thing?" Ryou asked, leaning in. His eyes widened in surprise, and he tore the photo from Amane's hands.

Around Yugi's neck was a completed, glinting, Sennen Puzzle. Amane was still on the floor, staring at her brother.

"Amane… I have to get this to Yugi," he said, turning the frame over. He moved the metal fastenings aside and pulled the wooden back off, pulling the photo itself gently from the frame. He turned it around, folded it and pocketed it. Amane scrambled up, marching out of the room angrily after him.

"Ryou, what are you—" Ryou whipped around and cut her off. His breathing was heavy and he looked anxious.

"Amane – close up here. But don't lose the key. We have to get this photo to Yugi _now._"

**

* * *

**

"….So, as far as you're concerned, I'm _not_ insane?"

"Exactly," Anzu said, smiling. Seto just blinked at her and held his head in his hands.

"Okay… So…"

"Everything you just told us happened," Anzu said softly. Seto folded his hands in his lap and glanced up at them. Honda sighed.

"It seems crazy, I know," he said, staring at the floor. "I'm having a lot of trouble coping, too. Anzu as well. For some reason, it all came flooding back to us. As if our memory had never been impaired." Seto remained silent. So many things went through his mind. But the one thing that bothered him the most was about his family.

He was orphaned? He and Mokuba were orphans? And they were adopted by the president of a multi-million dollar war company. That he turned into a gaming company? At sixteen?

Could that really _happen?_ It seemed improbable. Especially because Seto couldn't think of living any other life than his own. He couldn't imagine a life without his father. The person whom he looked up to his entire life, who raised he and Mokuba after his mother died. How could someone so amazing have _died?_

"It's the truth, then?" Seto asked. Anzu nodded. Seto stared at the floor.

"What is _this,_ then?" Seto asked. "What's the thing we exist in _now?_" Anzu shrugged.

"We don't know what's going on. All we know is, suddenly Yugi's story makes sense. Although…"

"We think that if Yugi forgets the story, which he's been doing," Honda explained, "then it will be like it never happened. Our lives will stay like this."

"So you think this is an illusion, then?" Seto asked. Anzu glanced at Seto suspiciously. Why was he so calm? If it were her in Seto's place, she would be freaking out, screaming, asking why it was happening.

Now that it occurred to her, she realized that Seto Kaiba himself would be acting that very same way. He would demand proof of some sort. He wouldn't take it calmly like this Seto Tiatino

Unless…

_Did Seto change that much?_ Anzu thought. _Was his past so effective to change him? What if Seto really would have been like this? Did something else tragically happen in his past? In his actual past? Or, if he had not been adopted by Gozoburo, would he be different? Is the Seto Kaiba they know now one that was shaped by Gozoburo? If so… is this the real Seto Kaiba?_

"You're so calm about this," Anzu said slowly. She was so deep in thought, she didn't even realize she had cut right into Honda and Seto's conversation.

"What? Me?" Seto asked. Anzu nodded. "I guess so… I guess maybe hearing these dreams I've had since I could remember are real… isn't that huge of a shock."

"Normally it would be, though. That's what I'm trying to say," Anzu explained. Seto stared at her quizzically.

"No, I don't usually have very big reactions to things…"

"Whaaaaaat?" Honda said, surprised. "Seto Kaiba reacts hugely to _everything._ And he never believes anything, either. He's actually quite annoying. Although you're not," Honda said thoughtfully. "I like you better." Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a compliment? Or an insult?" Anzu sighed and stood up.

"Look, we're not getting anything accomplished sitting here. Yugi could be dying right now and we're not even paying attention!" she cried. The other two just looked at her.

Anzu lowered her arms, defeated. There wasn't anything they _could_ do; Ryou was nowhere to be found, Jonouchi was going to trial, they couldn't solve the Puzzle…

They _needed_ Yugi.

**

* * *

**

_-Yugi's thoughts_

I can feel again. After darkness enveloped me in the hallway, I soon began feeling again. I'm still in darkness; I think I'm asleep. But it's a nice sleep. A comforting sleep. I feel whole in this sleep. I feel light. I want to stay like this, in this state.

The longer I lay here, thinking about it, the more comforting it feels. I just want to sleep. That's all. I want everything to be put on hold until I wake up.

Even if there are things happening around me, I don't care. I don't need those things. I don't need the outside world. I have everything here, inside. With me.

But… there's something wrong. I can feel as if someone is trying to reach me. As I lay, perfectly still, I can almost sense someone reaching for me, touching my arm, my cheek, my forehead. They put pressure onto my forehead, and I feel a great weight on the bed. Someone just leaned over me.

I can feel it more now. Someone… someone's lips come in contact with my head. Who is that? Who's kissing my forehead? But it's like… this person isn't actually a person. It's an entity. Something that isn't physically there.

It's comforting. This person just comforted me. They basically said "You can sleep now."

But I can't. I have to finish the Puzzle. After I finish the Puzzle… then there will be time to sleep.

**

* * *

**

Amethyst eyes burst open, intaking a huge amount of air into their lungs. The person coughed and rolled over onto his side, nearly choking on air. He covered his mouth with one hand as he coughed and hacked. A nurse ran to the door, peering in.

"Ohhh!" was the only thing she could spout out. She turned and ran on her heel, nearly screaming "DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" Another nurse grabbed a phone outside his room.

"Doctor Mazaki, he's awake," the nurse was saying in a hurried voice. Yugi coughed some more and laid back, trying to regulate his breathing. Who had kissed him? Who was it? Would they come back?

"Yugi! Yugi's awake!" Come cried upon running into the room. She ran to Yugi's bedside and leaned over him. She placed a hand on his forehead. Yugi closed his eyes.

_It wasn't her,_ he thought. _I would recognize it._

"You can't come in here!" a nurse was shouting across the room. The level of anxiety had raised in the room, and an uneasy air surrounded them all. They knew if they didn't work fast, they would lose Yugi.

Yugi saw that… Was that Ryou? He was fighting his way into the room. More shouting. Yugi closed his eyes again.

_Who is Ryou?_ He thought to himself. The person escaped him…

More shouting. All he could hear was the jumble and murmur of words being spoken around him. But the voices didn't make sense. They _were_ only sounds, after all. Sounds that people recognized and understood to have meaning to communicate, right?

Why was he thinking these strange thoughts? Maybe being on the verge of death brought out the intelligence in people.

Now Anzu and Honda were there, too. But he barely remembered them, either; who are these people?

He saw it.

The Puzzle. It had somehow ended up next to his arm on the bed. Sitting there, quietly awaiting its completion. It only had a few pieces left now. Yugi was unsure of who had put the other pieces in... He recalled no memory of getting _that_ far into the Puzzle.

Yugi reached out, in the midst of chaos, and touched the Puzzle. It glowed momentarily, then dulled to a shiny bright golden. Yugi picked up a piece weakly, and pushed it into place. The Puzzle clicked and the piece positioned itself. So, following suit, Yugi placed the second – and last – piece into place. It was a pretty piece, the piece with the pretty eye on it. The Eye of… something. Yugi blinked at it as he pushed the piece in. It seemed to take all of his remaining strength.

_Maybe this will make everyone happy,_ he thought. At first, nothing happened. Yugi could have sworn the room went silent, although he wasn't too sure.

Then—

Golden glints began pouring from the eye. As if it were crying a river of gold. It swirled around Yugi, warming him and numbing him. He felt more at peace than he did before. Everyone else in the room began reacting to the luminescent beauty. Yugi laid his hand on the Puzzle as people started shouting and running around, running into the hallway, running down it. His father even appeared when he saw the lights in the window from outside. Had God answered his questions?

Yugi closed his eyes. He suddenly began to feel cold… tired… and… damp. Wet. As if it were raining on him…

_You can sleep now, Aibou._

**

* * *

**

One chapter left.

**Shibby****-One**


	12. End

Last chapter, yo. It's been over a year, and it's been great fun to hang around with you all, but sadly, this is the end of the tale. I know it probably could have been better, with changes more drastic – actually, loads better – but this is the way I imagined it way back when. So this is the way it stays.

Again, thank you all.

* * *

**...11…**

It was cold outside that night.

Yugi was wet, too. His entire body soaked through with wet, sopping rain. And he was lying on something cold and hard. It made his body tingle with numbness.

At first, the only sounds he heard was the rain, hitting the surface around him. It was a soft sound, bouncing around as it fell. Almost like hail. He wondered if his world was still upside-down and backwards. Still as if nothing had happened.

Slowly, voices added to the looming darkness and the rain. Sounds appeared, too; cars going by, people walking and talking, planes overhead, the wind blowing around him.

Soon, the voices formed words. They made sounds. Yugi listened for any clues that told him where he was…

"…stopped by traffic – huge accident on a main highway, I'm afraid. Completely blocking the fastest route here—"

"How did it become raining so quickly? Wasn't it sunny just moments ago?"

"—Why isn't he waking up?"

"—It didn't seem like he was too badly injured when he fell—"

"—I-I warned him not to walk on that wall, didn't I? Didn't I!"

"What an idiot."

"Kaiba-sama, we need you to sign this form—"

_Bang._ Yugi's eyes shot open. At first, his vision was blurred. He saw dark colors, and his face was getting soaked. He heard gasps of surprise, and a blurred mass of colors appeared in his vision.

It was Jonouchi.

"Yugi! Yugi! He's awake!" Jonouchi cried happily as he came into focus. He was leaning over his friend, his black school uniform sopping wet, his hair dripping with water—

Wait.

_Black_ uniform? Yugi blinked and attempted to move. Jonouchi placed a hand on the boy's chest to stop him.

"Don't move, Yugi, an ambulance is coming. Just lay still, okay?" Yugi laid his head back down, and realized someone was standing at his head. He nearly laid down on their feet. He glanced up.

Trench coat, sour expression, and concerned eyes greeted him.

It was Seto Kaiba. He was staring down at him, rolling his eyes.

"Will someone _move_ this thing?" a tall woman said, kicking something. It jingled as she kicked it. Yugi turned his head to the side to see the object she kicked.

It was the Sennen Puzzle. Fully together, too. Yugi closed his eyes in bliss. He wanted to reach out and touch it. To make sure it was really real. He stretched his arm (it felt like it was ten thousand pounds) and laid a hand on the glinting object. It was cool and slick to his touch, his fingers running over it. It chilled him, all the way down to the bone. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Everything was the same. It was back again. Back the way he wanted it to be.

He felt so tired…

**

* * *

_-Yugi's thoughts_**

It was back. Somehow, solving the Puzzle did restore things as they should be. Even though I'm lying here, bleeding, in the cold, wet rain, I was at ease. But I was so tired still… I just wanted to sleep.

"Yugi, don't fall asleep!" Anzu begged with me. Jonouchi propped me up in his arms to support my body. His arms were warm and comfortable, unlike the hard, cold ground. I closed my eyes. I couldn't help it. I was content, for the first time in a long time.

"He could have a concussion; falling asleep with a concussion could mean death," someone said above me. Jonouchi shook my tired body a little to wake me.

"Yugi, please, whatever you do… Don't fall asleep!" Jonouchi said. He put a hand on my forehead to take my temperature, I suppose.

"He doesn't feel well at all—" Suddenly, Jonouchi lost his voice. His mouth continued to move in frantic motions, his eyes bright and afraid. He was pointing at someone, holding my body tightly. I could see people running around me. Anzu fell to her knees next to me, wincing as her knees were scraped and blood ran into the cold puddle she had knelt in. She looked frantic; her hands were clasped together, and she had a pleading face on.

But all sounds had been lost. What is this? Is this is what it's like to die?

As soon as my world becomes perfect, I have to leave again. Why can't I just stay in one place?

It was then I noticed how frantically Jonouchi was talking to me. He was saying my name, I could tell. I could read his lips. I could barely feel at this point. And it was as if it was the darkest of night. The streetlights, and the revolving lights of oncoming ambulances didn't reach me where I was.

I allowed sound one last time.

"…Yugi! Yugi! He's not answering!" Jonouchi cried frantically. "Yugi, please don't fall asleep! I'm begging you!" by now, Jonouchi had been forced to the verge of tears. He wiped his face and had to retrain himself from strangling his fallen friend. How could falling from a ledge do this to him!

"Yugi! Please, answer me! Can you hear me?" Jonouchi cried. Yugi closed his eyes.

"I hear you… Jou-kun…"

I went to sleep.

**

* * *

**

Whenever people approached the subject of that day, years from now, it was always hushed over. Always pushed aside. Always changed subjects. It was a strange phenomena that could not be explained. What had happened that afternoon.

Anzu, Jonouchi, Honda… they were barely aware of it. Ryou sensed it; Kaiba felt it. But it was a strange sensation, as if they had dreamt the whole thing. A dream that you were in the middle of when you were so rudely shaken awake. That you barely remember.

The first time it had been spoken of in – well, nearly ten, eleven years – was when Jonouchi relayed the story to Mai on the tenth-year anniversary.

At first, Mai was baffled by the story. Yugi had fallen from a ledge and hit his head. The Puzzle was smashed into bits – and they were suddenly tossed into a different… dimension, of sorts. As if the Puzzle had never been solved. Almost as if the gods were showing them what would have happened, had fate never intervened with them.

Jonouchi attempted to explain it to Mai. But she just couldn't comprehend the thought. Several weeks – maybe even months – that showed their lives as a twisted heap of ridiculousness, all shown within a ten-minute period? What kind of time warp was that?

Jonouchi was semi-conscious through it all. As if watching it through a faded television screen. So were Anzu and Honda, although their two different mindsets – the ones in real life and the ones in this "life" – became melded into one as time went on.

Jonouchi was nearly in tears by the time he reached the end, when Yugi finally solved the Puzzle.

"He… he solved it, finally," Jonouchi said, his hands shaking. He put his hands over his face. Mai reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.

"What is it? Tell me, Jonouchi," she whispered. Jonouchi took a deep, shuddering breath, and relayed the afterstory.

The story of how Yugi, the soaking, injured Yugi, the Yugi with a concussion, fell asleep. Right in his arms. Moments away from salvation. It took a lot of persuasion and threats for the grief-struck teen to release him from his arms, but it wouldn't have mattered.

Yugi died instantly that cold, rainy night.

Jonouchi, by now, had been reduced to a mass of wet, soppy tears. Mai comforted him, but the shock and realization that his very best friend had died right in his arms had taken him a long time to heal. It was a shock that stayed with him, years after. The shock that they couldn't _do_ anything to help him left them weak.

"…The only good thing that came out of it, that stupid, retched idea," Jonouchi said, wiping his eyes, "was that we were able to see more of our lives. But it didn't matter. It wasn't the fall that killed Yugi. He was convinced near the end that he really _was_ sick, or insane or _s-something… s-s-so…_ he died." All was silent.

"…whose idea was it?" Mai asked gently. "Whose idea was it to ask the Puzzle for such a gift? As to see your lives outside of this nonsense?" Jonouchi sighed and closed his eyes, leaning against the headboard of the bed. He stayed for a moment, and then shook his head.

"He never… forgave me," he whispered. Mai blinked.

_There's nothing ever wrong but nothing's ever right  
Such a cruel contradiction  
I know I cross the lines its not easy to define_

"What?"

"He never forgave my selfishness. He scolded me, told me _I _was Yugi's protector. He never forgave me, you know, the Pharaoh; Atemu never forgave me for that wish."

"…Wha—" But Jonouchi put a hand over her mouth. He took a long, shuddering breath.

_I'm born to indecision  
There's always something new some path I'm supposed to choose  
With no particular rhyme or reason_

"I wished that we would wake up and find it all a dream when he fell," Jonouchi whispered, his lip quivering. "I wished that. And it granted my wish, Mai." Mai was silent, shaking her head.

"I _killed_ him, Mai. I killed Yugi Mutou."

_The more the light shines through me… I pretend to close my eyes. The more the dark consumes me… I pretend I'm burning, burning briiiiight…_

"I wished. The Puzzle came apart. And our lives changed."

_The more the light shines through me… I pretend to close my eyes. The more the dark consumes me… I pretend I'm burning, burning briiiiight…_

Years later, long after this telling of the story, people still wondered what happened. But Jonouchi was the only one who knew; he thought about taking his story to the grave, since Mai had died and she was the only other who knew. But instead, he left a note under a statue on Yugi's grave, people not finding it until months after his own death, nearly eighty years after the death of Yugi Mutou.

_The more the light shines through me… I pretend to close my eyes. The more the dark consumes me… I pretend I'm burning, burning briiiiight…_

**

* * *

**

Yeah. Hmm. Completely different from the ending I wrote about a year ago (and lost), but I like this one better. Oh yeah, don't own the song "Burning Bright" by Shinedown. Last minute addition, I was listening to the song while writing it.

Well, since this was the last chapter, I'd like to add extra notes. I never thought that this story would take so long to do, or that I would get so into it. I'm sorry the detail was kind of lame in the changes, but I honestly started this with a vague idea. I actually used to have the first version of this story, but it was completely different. Very confusing. And this was started because someone said that at the end of YGO, Yugi would wake up and find out it all never happened. I thought that'd be cool and elaborated… a lot. Heh. We all know that's not what happened, but wouldn't it have been a cool twist? I thought it would be. This was also started when I was bored and had writer's block, so, I'm glad I actually finished it. I guess I'll respond to reviews, since it's the last chapter.

**Double0Agent23: **Yugi was slowly forgetting because… it made the story more interesting. And the thing that was going on in the photo clicked with Ryou, and he was all "I gotta get this to Yugi before he dies!" and stuff. I guess. Hehe.** Yami Adritha: **Thanks for the compliment! And it's finished now. Are you satisfied? If you're not, too bad. I'm not chagin' it. Heh.** Ryou's obsessed fan:** Heh, I used to do cliffhangers all the time on my old account. And most of the fics/stories/books I read have a lot of cliffhangers, so I've gotten good practice and good examples. Thanks for the compliment, and it's updated! **Daine3:** Yeah, they kinda got it. o-o Thanks? Umm… you're welcome? Heh. **Game Lover:** Ah. Thanks for the interpretation of the little symbol, I didn't know what it was. Yugi woke up, but then fell asleep. And DIED. :3** YumeTakato:** Yeah, updates. Heh. I updated again really soon this time. **Sorceress-fox125: **Well… before I finished the story, I kinda had to write this chapter first. It's not like I can magically poof it onto the screen. But thanks for the enthusiasm in the story. It's encouraging.** Silently Broken:** Heh, thanks. I never knew what an AU was until people kept telling me this was one. It finally clicked in my brain. Oooh, thank you so much! It's nice to know people really enjoy this fic.** Chika of the high mts:** Oooh, long review! Most reviews are about a sentence long. I like long reviews. I could only think of the obvious things to answer, sorry. If you have other questions… make a guess. Or come up with something. The adrenaline rush looked like fun, heh.** Marina-Kashu:** I updated for you! And all the others who said their sanity was nearly gone. I know how it feels when an author/authoress takes forever in updating. Makes me wanna kill something. o.o;** Shawna:** I've also read fics that are worse than this one, much worse. Try seven-ten months. But then she updates with like, 30-age chapters, so it's all good.

Again, thanks for hanging in with me for this fic. It's really encouraging. n.n

**Shibby-One**


	13. End: Original Ending

Hmm. How odd. Well, anyway, I got a lot a reviews for the last chap saying "Aww, why'd you kill him?" and I was like "I unno." And then I'm doing this huge uber-clean of my hard drive earlier this afternoon, and GUESS WHAT I FOUND?

The original ending of this story.

Yes folks. You get to see the original ending. Since I discovered all my old-ass Pokemon fanfics and early YGO ones. Heh. Yeah… I hope posting this doesn't get me suspended. u.u

Also – yes, some things _will_ be the same from the other ending I wrote – since I remembered some stuff from this ending. So don't get on my ass about that, either. I wrote this over a year ago. Italics are the original author notes.

_Well, it's the end now. Thanks for hanging in with me. It meant a lot. I hope this fic lived up to the expectations you gave it._

* * *

**…End…**

Sounds faded in and out. It was kinda cool. Just a little. And it was raining all of a sudden. Rain? When did the rain begin?

Was he dreaming again? He wasn't sure. Although he felt hands on his body, people lifting him, voices were speaking to him. But they weren't reaching him. They didn't register in his brain quite right.

Maybe if he concentrated… he wished… he believed…

He _had_ to talk to Jonouchi. It was essential to his sanity. Although, if he opened his eyes and found out that it was all normal…

Would he believe it? He was getting soaked. And he felt really cold.

He wanted to know for sure.

Yugi opened his eyes. The deep crimson in his eyes glittered as he focused them on the people around him. His body soaking in a pool of his own blood, water pitter-patting around him. He stared at whoever was around him with half-open, tired eyes. No one even noticed he was awake until some stranger pointed it out.

"He's awake! He's awake!" the stranger cried. Yugi noticed that the large mass of color before him was moving. It moved into his view.

A scared, sad, and surprised Jonouchi moved into his view. He licked his lips and placed one hand on each shoulder, gently holding Yugi.

"Yugi… Oh, Yugi, Yugi, thank God you're awake!" he said, smiling with relief. His eyes looked tired and stressed, and worn, as if this happening had taken thirty years off his life. Anzu was kneeling in the puddles next to them, shaking and smiling and crying all at once, seeming to be clapped in prayer. Honda was in the background, pointing to something and explaining something to a reporter.

"Quick, support his head!" someone exclaimed. "The ambulance is stuck in a huge jam."

"That sucks," Anzu whispered. Her hair glistened under the streetlights as the rain fell around them. Yugi smiled at them all.

At first, he wasn't sure where he was. Had it all been a dream? Or was he still trapped in that other… life?

"Jou-kun?" Yugi said as people talked around him. He didn't notice the figure standing near him, staring at him silently. "Where's the Puzzle?"

At first, Jonouchi looked at him quizzically, as if Yugi had begun speaking a foreign language. Yugi's heart skipped a beat.

_No,_ he thought. _No, it didn't work, we're still trapped, still trapped—_

"Oh! The Puzzle," he said, glancing to his side. "Right there, Yugi-kun. Right where you left it." Yugi turned his head slowly to see the glinting object not too far away. It was completely together, the cord all rolled up neatly as if nothing had ever happened.

Is that what happened? The strange universe was created when the Puzzle shattered?

Is that one it's secret powers?

"Don't let him fall asleep," a voice said above him. Yugi looked up to see a sour Seto Kaiba looking down at him. "He could have a concussion."

"How could all this happen from a _fall!_" Anzu said, nearly in distress. Jonouchi supported the boy in his arms, his warm body warming the cold one.

"Yugi – can you rest without falling asleep?" Jonouchi asked. But Yugi didn't respond. He seemed to be confused at what he was seeing. He squinted at Jonouchi and seemed confused. Jonouchi frowned at him. Yugi seemed to let his body relax, his breathing calm, slowing…

"Yugi, don't fall asleep! Yugi!"

"Can you hear me, Yugi?"

* * *

_-Yugi's thoughts_

I'm so happy right now. I feel numb and warm. As if this warm sensation is bubbling from deep within my body. Deep within my soul.

I kind of wish I had more time. Maybe if I had known that I would solve the Puzzle right then, I would have said good-bye to my father. He's dead now.

At least, I think he is. Right after I woke up, I had a fleeting thought that maybe it didn't work. But Jonouchi remembered the Puzzle.

Although… I don't really trust what I see anymore. How do I know this isn't one huge dream as well? Some parallel universe? What if I _am_ in some kind of never-ending coma, dreaming strange things and never waking?

What then?

No. I'm back. I can't think those thoughts. I'll start to doubt reality again.

I can't start losing it _now._

But I feel so tired now. I just want to sleep. I feel as if I haven't slept in ages. In that other "life" of mine, I was having trouble sleeping. Am I making up for that? Did that month or so really go by? What happened?

I'm too tired to worry about this now. Too… too sleepy. Anzu looks scared. So does Jonouchi. I hope I don't scare them again.

Jonouchi's talking to me.

"Yugi! Yugi! Can you hear me, Yugi!" I closed my eyes. I was so tired…

"I can hear you… Jonouchi…"

Then I went to sleep.

* * *

Anzu was awoken rudely at two in the morning. Jonouchi had kicked her again. She lifted her head groggily and looked at the red plastic chair next to her, where Jonouchi's five-foot-ten-inch frame was shoved into. Anzu glanced around the dimly lit waiting area, where they'd been for the past eight hours. There were other people scattered sparsely around the room. Most others were asleep, too, with the occasional reading person. 

Anzu glanced across the aisle to where Honda was curled up in a chair. He was breathing soundly, sleeping somewhat soundly. Next to him was an empty seat. Anzu lifted her body straight and looked around.

Where had Rachel-san gone to? Yugi's mother disappeared from where she had been only a few hours earlier. Anzu glanced around, finding it strange how quite the hospital was.

Anzu stretched and propelled herself up. She was going to—

"OUCH! Fuck!" A sharp whisper came from beside her. Anzu leaped and had to cover her mouth in order not to shriek. Jonouchi woke up from when Anzu pressed down on his foot by accident. Jonouchi sat up started rubbing his hurt foot.

"Smooth, Anzu. Real smooth," he hissed at her. Anzu frowned.

"You kicked me awake," she whispered back, sitting down. Jonouchi rubbed his eyes and sighed.

They sat silently for awhile, mulling over Yugi's state. He was still unstable the last time they checked…

"…I wonder if he knew what was going to happen," Jonouchi said over a period of time. "It was so weird. I never knew the Puzzle was so fragile."

"You were awake, too? I kind of was," Anzu said softly. "Towards the end my two minds – my actual mind and the one of the "new life" – melded. It was strange, though."

"Yeah… I think I had myself convinced that I _was,_ indeed, insane. Or something," Jonouchi muttered. "I just can't believe I did that."

"It wasn't real, Jonouchi, remember," Anzu said, facing her friend. "It's what could have happened, but it didn't. So just be happy with the way things turned out and don't question it."

They were silent again.

"… fate is funny like that," Jonouchi said, smiling at Anzu. Anzu chuckled.

"Hey, Jou-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you see where Rachel-san got to?" Jonouchi stared at her, glanced at the empty chair, then back to Anzu.

"She woke me by accident a few hours ago, I think," Jonouchi said. "She said she was going to see Yugi. I think they moved him to a room." Anzu gasped and stood.

"Did she say where!" Anzu asked. Jonouchi shrugged.

"She said it was in 'B-26'. Wherever that is…"

"That's near to here," Anzu said slowly. "This way. Come with me." The two ventured into the hallway, which was much more brightly lit then the waiting area. Anzu looked at all the numbers, then went into another connecting hallway. She then stopped at a doorway that was slightly open. She tapped the temporary nameplate.

" '_Mutou__, Yugi'_," she read. She grinned. "B-26." The two looked at each other, then pushed the door open.

Inside was an array of different machinery attached to a very large bed. And inside the bed, hooked up to many of these machines, was a much smaller person.

Yugi was curled up on his side, bandages around his head and his side. He wasn't wearing a shirt, because EKG electrodes were attached to his chest. Other tubes of different colored liquids were attached to him at the veins in his wrists. And he had a breathing mask over his mouth and nose. He was on his side, breathing slowly, the EKG beeping with a reassuring rhythm.

"Yugi…" Anzu whispered. With her head down on the bed, Rachel Mutou was asleep next to her son, breathing slowly. Jonouchi put a hand on her shoulder and looked down at Yugi. Anzu put her hand in his and squeezed it, then pulled her hand from his.

"You're alright now, right, Yugi-kun?" Jonouchi asked, smiling down at his friend. Yugi didn't respond. But Jonouchi knew he wanted to answer anyway.

It took Yugi a long time to convince himself he wasn't crazy. He had to see different psychiatrists and psychologists for years. Special classes outside of school. Talking to people constantly. Almost developing obsessive-compulsive disorder.

His physical wounds healed; and, with time, his mind did as well. But he always wondered what his life would have _really_ been like. He began appreciating the blessing of the Items more than he did before. If it weren't for the Puzzle… he would have died.

It's still unknown how it happened; what happened, and why it happened. But years from now, ten, twenty, thirty, eighty… It still affected him. He thought about it always. But he was able to live his life full-out. Full-out and strong.

Until the day he died.

* * *

_Yeah… weird ending.__ I know. o.o Sorry it's so lame. Well, I guess this is the end. Again, thanks for hanging in there until the end. I wish I could make the ending more exciting, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else. Until next time—_

Well, there it is, folks. The original ending. Which do you like better? I personally can't decide which I like better. Heh. So… I dunno. As you can see, I actually remembered some things from this ending, but it's so _old…_ gah. Well, if you weren't satisfied with the re-written ending, maybe the original is better. This was done before I went on a huge-ass killing spree.

I guess, until next time, as I wrote before—

**Shibby-One**


End file.
